The much-publicized exchange between Bed Bath & Beyond chairman Marcus Lemonis and California Gov. Gavin Newsom is a lesson for the whole country.
We shoppers look back fondly on the marketing acumen that, starting with one store in 1971, built Bed Bath & Beyond into a retail giant that once had 365 stores nationwide.
The shopping experience there was always great fun -- the basics of homemaking at great prices plus innovative trinkets that were always attention-getters at prices attractive enough to get you to buy what you weren't even thinking about when you walked into the store.
The nature of business is that times change. The reality of the marketplace -- conditions changing daily -- requires total investment of time and attention every day of those managing the business.
Sometimes it gets the best of even the best entrepreneurs. Even the best can make a wrong call.
Business is not what those who denigrate capitalism claim it is. It's about humility and listening to and serving others. A moment of taking your eye off the ball, a moment of not carefully listening to and anticipating what your customers want and giving it to them, can mean disaster.
The best and most successful can do what is said to characterize a great marriage: You know what your partner wants before they even think about it. Such it is with great entrepreneurs and their customers.
Because every day is a new experience, freedom is vital for business to prosper. Freedom to innovate, freedom to create, and also freedom to fail.
What's the role of government in all this? Thomas Jefferson said it. "Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed" to secure our life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
When citizens, in a free country, are unhappy with how they are being governed, they have two principal options for change. Voting in the ballot box or with their feet -- leaving.
I wrote recently that, per one estimate, between 2020 and 2025, some 500 companies have moved their headquarters or significant operations out of California to other states.
Of Bed Bath & Beyond's 365 stores nationwide, its largest presence in the country was in California, with just under 90 stores.
Now as the chain emerges out of bankruptcy reorganization, it's announcing plans for store reopenings nationwide.
Bed Bath & Beyond chairman Lemonis issued a press release to publicize that they "will not open or operate retail stores in California."
The short, terse announcement is a lesson in public policy for every American.
"California has created one of the most overregulated, expensive, and risky environments for businesses in America."
"The result? Higher taxes, higher fees, higher wages that many businesses simply cannot sustain, and endless regulations that strangle growth."
Newsom's response? Who cares! Adios! His office issued a statement on social media saying, "We wish them well in their efforts to become relevant again as they try to open a second store."
Newsom has demonstrated his own vision and business acumen with his multibillion-dollar 500-mile bullet train to nowhere fiasco. It was supposed to be completed by 2030, but a foot of rail has yet to be laid. Now he is scrounging for cash as President Donald Trump has pulled $4 billion in federal funding.
With Americans pouring out of blue states and moving to red states, Texas has moved to redistrict to make their state a more welcoming red. Newsom's answer is to push to redistrict to make his state an even more discouraging blue.
The Cato Institute issues a biannual report on the nation's governors, giving grades A to F based on tax and spending policies. In the latest 2024 report, Newsom garnered an impressive D.
If Democrats want to know what's wrong with their party, Gavin Newsom is serving as a great poster boy.
Star Parker is founder of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education. Her recent book, "What Is the CURE for America?" is available now.
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