Home goods retailer Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.’s stock price rebounded Thursday (Jan. 6), climbing more than 11% after initially dropping more than 9% per share on news of a disappointing third quarter.
The company reported its net sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2021 plummeted 28%, with executives pointing to supply chain snafus as the primary culprit for the steep decline.
The company is also closing 37 more stores in 19 states, most by the end of February, the next phase in a plan to shutter 200 outposts over two years, according to a USA Today report Wednesday (Jan. 5).
Bed Bath & Beyond President and CEO Mark Tritton said in the company announcement that BBB officials responded quickly to the changing conditions by adjusting its prices, optimizing its promotions and updating its product mix.
“During a quarter where our sales momentum was not where we wanted it to be with sales of $1.9 billion and a 7% comp decline, improved momentum in November and strong gross margins demonstrated progress in our transformation,” he said.
“After our previously announced slower start to sales in September and October, we drove a change in trends by November with our comp decline improving, particularly in stores,” said Tritton.
BBB’s overall sales were hampered by the lack of availability of many products, he said, as customer demand remained high despite the massive sales downturn. Tritton estimated the supply chain snags cost the chain about $100 million in the third quarter — and even more in December.
BBB grew its Beyond+ loyalty program by about 500,000 in Q3, one of the largest quarterly jumps in the history of the program. Meanwhile, the company’s buybuy BABY brand is on pace to reach about $1.3 billion in sales.
Related: Kroger Partners With Bed Bath & Beyond as Grocers Expand Offerings Beyond F&B
In November, grocery store chain Kroger partnered with Bed Bath & Beyond to offer a limited selection of top-selling home and baby products at the grocer’s stores and on its online shop.
Also read: Uber, Bed Bath & Beyond Partner to Deliver Baby and Kids’ Clothing
Meanwhile, Uber partnered with Bed Bath & Beyond and buybuy BABY on a baby and kids vertical within the Uber Eats app that includes delivery of baby and home products from almost 120 buybuy BABY and more than 750 Bed Bath & Beyond stores.
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