Mark Tritton, CEO of Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY), is looking to remake the retailer with the same approach that has enabled his former employer, Target, to achieve record-setting results in recent years.
Mr. Tritton made his plans clear when he joined Bed Bath & Beyond in November 2019. His strategy was threefold: transitioning to a fully integrated “omni-always” operation, aligning its costs with revenues and differentiating with in-demand merchandise not reliant on coupons to drive turns.
It’s no surprise, considering his background as chief merchandising officer at Target, that Mr. Tritton believes that signature store brands are key to projecting the image he wants for Bed Bath & Beyond. His vision, on that front, appears to be moving closer to reality as the retailer announced last week that it will launch 10 new owned brands in the next two years. Eight lines will make their debut this fiscal year, including six in the first six months.
The company is hoping to take owned brands from around 10 percent of its revenues to about 30 percent within the first three years. Mr. Tritton is looking for these sales to help boost Bed Bath & Beyond’s gross margins as the chain brings products to market.
“We will deliver the most significant transformation of our product assortment in a generation, by providing our customers with inspirational owned brands across every room in their homes,” he said in a statement.
The new lines along with select national brands would, Mr. Tritton said, “create a platform for sustainable long-term growth and true authority in the home market.”
Bed Bath & Beyond is launching its new Nestwell bed and bath brand this month and is planning to relaunch Haven, its spa-inspired assortment of organic cotton products bath brand, in April. Another new line, Simply Essential, is billed as more than 1,000 “hard-working household essentials” offered at an opening price point.
The retailer’s owned brand push is part of what it says is a data-driven effort to reset merchandising by categories and rooms. The retailer, which is also discontinuing underperforming brands across its business, is moving ahead with remodels at 450 of its stores as it seeks to transform into “a modern, 360-degree approach to marketing and customer engagement.”
