Bed Bath & Beyond is back from the dead
By Parija Kavilanz, CNN
New York (CNN) — A month after Overstock.com announced it bought Bed Bath & Beyond’s brand out of bankruptcy, the company has dumped its name and morphed its website and app.
On Tuesday, Overstock’s website relaunched as BedBathandBeyond.com, a move that merges Overstock’s online business model and merchandise categories with popular branded products favored by Bed Bath & Beyond shoppers.
“All of Overstock’s categories will transition over and new products will also come in,” Jonathan Johnson, CEO of Overstock, said in an interview with CNN.
The relaunched website touted a “Welcome to a bigger, better beyond” welcome message, offering deals of an extra 15%-20% off bedding, bath and furniture items.
“Since this deal was announced, we have added over 600,000 new products to the site,” said Johnson, adding that a lot of the new products “are the name-brand products that people have always bought and expected to buy at the old Bed Bath & Beyond.”
Overstock (OSTK), which sells furniture, home furnishings, bath, lighting, rugs and an array of other products online at discounted prices, acquired Bed Bath & Beyond’s name, intellectual property and digital assets in June with a winning bid of $21.5 million for its assets.
Brought back to life
Johnson promised newness blended with familiarity for Bed Bath & Beyond customers in the latest digital-only version of the retailer.
“It will have the same great bed, bath and kitchen items but it will also have a much bigger beyond,” he said. The “beyond” includes a wider array of linens, cookware and small appliances.
Fans of Bed Bath & Beyond’s 20%-off a single item “Big Blue” coupon will be somewhat disappointed that it will not be resurrected.
“I guess what I would say about the coupon is that if you like Bed Bath & Beyond coupons in the past, you will like new Bed Bath & Beyond mobile app we will be rolling out with launch in US,” said Johnson.
He said shoppers can avail themselves of special deals and promotions through the new app, including a 25% off coupon for downloading the app and making purchases. Former Overstock.com loyalty program members will get a 20% off coupon and their membership transferred to the rebranded loyalty program.
BedBathand Beyond.com is also reinstating up to $50 in unused loyalty rewards points for active members of the former Bed Bath & Beyond loyalty program. “Those rewards points had gone away in the bankruptcy,” he said.
“We’ll still be offering coupons even if they’re not as large as the 20% coupon that people expected and frankly demanded from Bed Bath & Beyond,” said Johnson.
What’s not coming back — at least in the foreseeable future — are physical stores.
“Never say never,” said Johnson. “We’re focused on this transition now and we like our asset-light business model…. But never say never. We’ll look, we may test, but right now, it’s not in the current strategic plan.”
Bed Bath & Beyond announced in April it would close all 360 of its stores and go out of business.
One change that Overstock is contemplating is the company ticker symbol.
“We think the corporate name, which is Overstock and ticker ‘OSTK’ is probably not a fit anymore. We’re figuring out what to do. We’re not sure we want it to be the “BBBY” tainted ticker of a meme stock gone bankrupt. We’ll find the right name in time.”
Bed Bath & Beyond’s return comes close on the heels another iconic retail brand’s comeback.
Babies R Us, which went out of business in tandem with its parent company, Toys R Us, in 2018, opened its new US flagship store last month at the American Dream Mall in New Jersey.
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