Bed Bath & Beyond closing 40 stores, opening 15 experimental 'lab stores'

CEO Steven Temares said 21 "next-generation lab stores" that opened last year performed better than the others, according to CNN. Temares said those experimental stores had sales that were 2.2% higher than others in the last four weeks. Customers also spent more.

"We expect to open approximately 15 new stores in fiscal 2019. This will be offset by a minimum of approximately 40 stores we expect to close," Robyn D'Elia, chief financial officer and treasurer, said during Wednesday's earnings call, according to USA Today. "This number will grow unless we are able to negotiate more favorable lease terms with our landlords."

The company currently has more than 1,000 stores in North America.