Bed Bath and Beyond timeline: The chaotic final years of a classic American retailer

The end of an era may be coming: Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY), once one of the U.S.'s most beloved home furnishing retailers, is reportedly eyeing a bankruptcy filing in the coming weeks.

From simple beginnings to becoming a national retail titan that sold everything from coffee makers to candy, the company's more than 50-year long journey has been both adventurous and chaotic.

Here's a look at the years leading up to its current near-death state.

The good old days

Founders Leonard Feinstein and Warren Eisenberg originally worked at Arlans, a discount retail chain, but eventually discovered the need for niche stores that better served shoppers.

In 1971, they opened the first linens-only "Bed 'n Bath" store in Springfield, New Jersey. Their bet was spot-on: The 1980s brought a rise in consumerism, Walmart-driven price deflation, and new retail economics that led to booming business in suburban America for big-box retailers. The popularity helped Bed n' Bath expand out of its home state of New Jersey with more products and in 1987, it added the "beyond" label to its corporate name.

Bed Bath & Beyond was the classic "category killer" of the 1980s and 1990s, similar to the now-defunct Toys "R" Us. Category killers represented a new wave of superstores that featured high inventory and low prices in their specific category, like home goods. Customers got a wider range of merchandise to browse from than that of smaller, more local businesses.

In its prime, Bed Bath & Beyond featured prices low enough throughout the year that sales events were no longer calendar-worthy for customers. It didn't require a million-dollar advertising campaign to lure in shoppers — just the big blue coupons in the snail mail with which customers have become well acquainted.

The company went public in June 1992, initially trading around $1. Sales crossed $1 billion in 1998. The company powered through recessions and kept sales soaring as more households formed in the United States.