Burlington Stores, Inc.
Acquisitions
3
Major Deals Covered
$12M
Disclosed Deal Value
Burlington's largest disclosed acquisition here is Bed Bath & Beyond store leases for $12M in 2023. This page covers 3 major deals from 1989 to 2025, each with its price where disclosed and the reason behind it.
| Company | Year | Price | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cohoes Specialty Stores (Cohoes Fashions) | 1989 | Undisclosed | Burlington Coat Factory bought the Cohoes Specialty Stores off-price apparel chain from Cohoes, New York, adding branded apparel stores in upstate New York and a 50 percent stake in the Cohoes Commons building. |
| Bed Bath & Beyond store leases | 2023 | $12.0M | In Bed Bath & Beyond's bankruptcy, Burlington won 44 leases at the June 2023 auction for $12 million, the largest share of the 109 leases auctioned, to speed up new store openings. |
| Joann store leases | 2025 | Undisclosed | After Joann's second bankruptcy filing in January 2025, Burlington agreed to assume 45 Joann store leases across the United States, according to April 2025 bankruptcy court filings. |
2025
After Joann's second bankruptcy filing in January 2025, Burlington agreed to assume 45 Joann store leases across the United States, according to April 2025 bankruptcy court filings.
The former Joann sites became a large part of Burlington's fiscal 2026 opening program of about 115 net new stores.
Burlington's store count rose from 1,212 in January 2026 to 1,287 by August 1, 2026. The price paid for the leases was not disclosed.
2023
$12M
In Bed Bath & Beyond's bankruptcy, Burlington won 44 leases at the June 2023 auction for $12 million, the largest share of the 109 leases auctioned, to speed up new store openings.
Burlington later reported 62 former Bed Bath & Beyond leases in total, reopened as smaller-format Burlington stores in established shopping centers.
The deal helped the chain pass 1,000 stores by the end of fiscal 2023. The $12 million figure covers the 44 auction leases only.
1989
Burlington Coat Factory bought the Cohoes Specialty Stores off-price apparel chain from Cohoes, New York, adding branded apparel stores in upstate New York and a 50 percent stake in the Cohoes Commons building.
Gave Burlington a second off-price banner in the Northeast alongside its Coat Factory stores.
Burlington still operated two stores under the Cohoes Fashions name as of January 2022, and Cohoes Fashions, Inc. was a co-defendant with Burlington in the Fendi counterfeiting case decided in 2010.
Burlington grows mainly by opening stores. It added 178 gross and 149 net new stores in the 12 months to August 1, 2026, and plans about 115 net openings in fiscal 2026. New stores use a smaller prototype of about 25,000 square feet instead of the very large boxes of the Coat Factory era, which lowers rent and labor per store. Many sites come from retailer bankruptcies: Burlington took on 62 Bed Bath & Beyond leases in 2023 and 45 Joann leases in 2025, and the Joann sites feed a large share of its 2026 openings. Inside existing stores, the Burlington 2.0 plan focuses on leaner inventory, faster turns and buying closer to need.
Burlington makes nearly all of its money from merchandise sold in its stores. Net sales were $11.55 billion of its $11.57 billion fiscal 2025 total revenue; the remaining $17 million of other revenue comes from sources such as rental income and service fees. Its merchants buy branded goods when manufacturers or other retailers have excess stock, cancelled orders or closeouts, which lets Burlington price items below department stores. Some buys are held back as packaway inventory and released to stores later in the season or the following year. Under the Burlington 2.0 plan introduced by CEO Michael O'Sullivan, stores carry less inventory and buyers keep more money open to purchase closer to the selling season, so they can react to what is selling. The company has sold only through stores since it announced the end of its e-commerce business in March 2020, judging the small online operation unprofitable for low-priced off-price merchandise.
Rarely. Its main company acquisition was the Cohoes Specialty Stores off-price chain in 1989. Since then it has grown by opening stores, often in leases taken over from bankrupt retailers.
Bain Capital took Burlington Coat Factory private in 2006 for about $2.06 billion. Burlington Stores returned to the NYSE in an October 2013 IPO at $17 a share.
Burlington won 44 leases for $12 million at the June 2023 bankruptcy auction, the largest share of the 109 sold, and later reported 62 former Bed Bath & Beyond leases in total.
Yes. After Joann's second bankruptcy in January 2025, Burlington agreed to assume 45 Joann store leases, according to April 2025 court filings. Many reopened as Burlington stores in fiscal 2026.
Off-price chains need well-located boxes more than brands or systems. Taking over leases from bankrupt retailers gives Burlington built stores in established centers and supports more than 100 net openings a year.
No. It shut its own online store in March 2020 and has put its capital into stores and supply chain capacity instead.
The company was acquired by the massive private equity firm Bain Capital in 2006 for $2 billion. Bain completely restructured the company and eventually took it public again in 2013.
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