Bed Bath & Beyond, Trying to Turn Things Around, Names New C.E.O.

Bed Bath Beyond, the beleaguered retail chain that is in the midst of an attempted turnaround, said on Wednesday that Sue Gove would officially assume the title of chief executive after four months as an interim in the role.

Ms. Gove has been an independent director for the company since May 2019. She became the interim chief after Mark Tritton stepped down and left the company following several quarters of declining sales. The company’s stock has tumbled 65 percent since the start of the year.

Now, Ms. Gove will assume the task of reviving Bed Bath Beyond’s fortunes.

Following the announcement of a restructuring plan in August, the company is in the process of closing 150 of its big-box stores, from New Jersey to California. Roughly 70 store closures are already underway, and another wave will begin soon. It has laid off employees and, where possible, transferred workers from stores that are closing to others nearby. It is trying to ease some of its supply chain pains by adding a new regional distribution center and working with a third-party company to analyze its network.

On Tuesday, the company completed an at-the-market offering program for 12 million shares, and authorized a new $150 million at-the-market offering, in order to increase liquidity. It also has a bond exchange program that it hopes will reduce its debt. In August, the company said that it had taken out more than $500 million in new financing.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/26/business/bed-bath-beyond-ceo.html