Dive Brief:
- Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. Executive Chairman and Principal Executive Officer Marcus Lemonis was appointed CEO of the company, effective Thursday.
- At the same time, Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. announced Alexander Thomas, the company’s chief operating officer, has been terminated. Thomas was appointed COO in March.
- The executive shuffle came as Lemonis outlined a three-pillar strategy for the company that includes offering services, insurance, financing tools and “mortgage related solutions.”
Dive Insight:
Bed Bath & Beyond is kicking off the year with C-suite changes and a new business strategy.
Lemonis became the company’s executive chairman about two years ago. The company had been undergoing many changes, including several rebrands and the appointment of new leaders across its merchandising and marketing teams.
Lemonis expanded his role at Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. by adding the position of principal executive officer in March.
As he expands his role once again, Lemonis laid out a strategy that involves Bed Bath & Beyond moving beyond just retail.
“I want to make owning, living in, and caring for a home easier, less expensive, and more rewarding for all,” Lemonis said in a letter to shareholders. “I have always felt that home ownership is a bedrock of the American Dream. Whether someone is renting their first apartment, living in student housing, buying their first home, or settling into a forever home, we want Bed Bath & Beyond to be associated with making those journeys more achievable, more affordable, and less overwhelming.”
The company’s strategy features three pillars: omnichannel retail and commerce; digital, financial, insurance and blockchain services; and beyond home, which includes an AI-powered home operating system.
For the first pillar, the company plans to execute this strategy through company-owned stores, an asset-light model and an international licensing model.
The company is using AI to move beyond retail by offering services like home and product warranties; property, casualty, umbrella and shipping insurance; home maintenance programs; credit cards; financial tools; and mortgage-related solutions. Bed Bath & Beyond is also offering blockchain services through platforms like tZERO and GrainChain.
The final pillar of the company’s strategy “focuses on the moments that matter most financially in the home lifecycle, when consumers buy, sell, finance or tokenize, renovate, insure, process title, or unlock liquidity from their homes,” Lemonis said. The company said it will also strategically invest in modern prefab and modular homebuilders to address affordable housing.
The new strategy comes as the company nears the closing of its deal to acquire The Brand House Collective (formerly Kirkland’s). At the time of that announcement, the company said that once the deal closes, The Brand House Collective CEO Amy Sullivan would become chief executive of the newly formed “Beyond Retail Group” division.
Lemonis on Monday said the company sees opportunities for additional acquisitions and investments “where we see category gaps, consumer services, business synergies, or natural brand extensions through the next 12 months.”
“This is not a turnaround story. It is a rebuild into something structurally better,” he said. “We will not chase growth at the expense of trust. We will not deploy capital without discipline. We will not sacrifice affordability for short term margin. We will not confuse customers with unnecessary complexity.”
