Bed Bath & Beyond still plans to close 60 stores
But officials say 20 closings will be delayed to clear out merchandise
Bed Bath & Beyond officials said Wednesday that they still plan to close 60 stores after shuttering 14 locations in late 2019.
But 20 stores will stick around a little longer than originally planned.
Slumping sales, partly due to a weak connection with young shoppers, led the new CEO of Bed Bath & Beyond to say the company’s performance is “unsatisfactory” and needs to usher in change.
The home goods retailer reported a nine per cent drop in net sales during the threemonth period that ended Nov. 30 as compared to that period the previous year, and a loss of 31 cents per diluted share.
“Our performance in the third quarter was unsatisfactory and underscores the imperative for change,” Mark Tritton, Bed Bath & Beyond’s president and
CEO said in an earnings call. “We will move quickly to course-correct and drive the business forward.”
The New Jersey-based home goods retailer, which also operates Buy Buy Baby, Harmon Face Values and World Market, announced in October that it would shutter 60 stores company-wide in the fiscal year.
To not step on sales of the merchandise that it will be clearing out, the company will delay the closing of some of its namesake brand’s locations.
“We’ve decided to delay the closing of 20 of the 40 Bed Bath & Beyond stores that were scheduled to close to utilize these stores during the first half of fiscal 2020,” said Robyn D’Elia, the company’s chief financial officer.
Some of the retailer’s problems centre on not having enough shopping options, particularly the digitally-driven choices that can attract millennials, Tritton said, and pricing has also not been appealing.
“It’s clear we have some heavy lifting to do,” Tritton said. “We’re experiencing shortterm pain, some of which has been self-inflicted.”
Tritton, who has been on the job a little more than two months after serving as an executive at Target, says the company is finalizing its plan to lift profits and woo shoppers. But already it’s reducing overhead, ramping up private brands and overhauling the company’s leadership.
It previously announced the departure of six senior members of its senior executive team. It’s also sold off real estate.
“We are still actively pursuing other potential portfolio adjustments,” Tritton said.
Bed Bath & Beyond is one of many retailers trying to find its footing amid a landscape transformed by the rise of Amazon and a growing demand by consumers to shop online.
Some of the retailer’s problems centre on not having enough shopping options