A MASSIVE recent development has saved a bankrupt retailer from being wiped out.
The home goods retailer’s name will carry on as another e-commerce giant swooped into the rescue – but the CEO said significant changes are underway.
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Bed Bath and Beyond declared bankruptcy in late April.
In the Chapter 11 filing, the company said it would close down all 350 stores unless a buyer took over their properties.
In late June, a buyer appeared.
Overstock.com reached a deal to purchase Bed Bath and Beyond’s naming rights.
Overstock – an ecommerce retailer known for discounted home goods products – announced it completed a purchase of Bed Bath and Beyond’s name on June 28 for $21.5million.
Soon, Overstock’s website will rename as Bed Bath and Beyond.
“Bed Bath & Beyond is an iconic consumer brand, well-known in the home retail marketplace,” Overstock’s CEO Jonathan Johnson said in a statement to CNBC.
“The combination of our winning asset-light business model and the high awareness and loyalty of the Bed Bath & Beyond brand will improve the customer experience and position the Company for accelerated market share growth.”
Johnson said Bed Bath and Beyond’s website will go through massive changes under his tutelage.
INSIDE THE REBRAND
Johnson confirmed Overstock will transition to the Bed Bath and Beyond name in “late July or early August” during an interview with CBS’s MoneyWatch.
The CEO said he wants customers to have a different experience with the Bed Bath and Beyond brand.
“We didn’t want any confusion about what’s going to be our lovely site versus the garage-sale store that’s going on at [Bed Bath & Beyond] stores right now,” Johnson said.
“I don’t want that taint on us.”
Johnson said the company’s iconic brand inspired Overstock’s purchase – he just didn’t agree with Bed Bath and Beyond’s exit strategy.
“We loved the brand, hated the business model,” he said.
“Like all the brick-and-mortars [stores], their digital game was there, but it was not A-plus.
“There’s stuff on the floor, like hotel bins of things … There [are] not even great deals,” he said about the in-store closures.
The CEO confirmed customers should expect massive changes to Bed Bath and Beyond’s product lines and pricing points.
“Our coupons don’t need to be as big because our base prices are already sharper than Bed Bath & Beyond’s were,” he said.
But some iconic Bed Bath and Beyond offerings – like the wedding and baby registries – will remain.
WHY BUY?
Johnson said Overstock’s name had a huge implication problem.
“We’re a home furnishing and furniture company, and it sounds like we’re a liquidator, and that’s been a headwind for consumers and … for suppliers,” he said.
The company’s stock price rose over 30 percent in the past month following the announced acquisition.
Overstock’s purchase only includes the online brand-name.
All 350 national Bed Bath and Beyond stores are still running down operations to their ultimate closure.
The U.S. Sun reports on other store closures – here is a national brand that is closing dozens of stores following bankruptcy proceedings.
Also, another recognizable store filed for Bankruptcy protection.
