Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) might be selling more than soap dishes and shower heads at the moment. A report in Bloomberg, citing "people familiar with the matter," says that the struggling retailer is exploring the divestment of its Cost Plus World Market and Christmas Tree Shops chains.
Bed Bath & Beyond, which had difficulties with growth and profitability even before the economic damage wrought by the coronavirus, has been under shareholder pressure for some time. Last year, activist investors pushed for the removal of Steven Temares, the CEO at the time. The company now has a new management team, which has trimmed the workforce and taken other measures to reduce costs.
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The successful sales of either Cost Plus or Christmas Tree Shops (or both), would be the latest in a series of asset divestments. Earlier this year, the company sold specialty online retail portal PersonalizationMall.com and the One Kings Lane home decor product line.
Both Cost Plus and Christmas Tree Shops have been in Bed Bath & Beyond's portfolio for years. The company bought the former in 2012 for $495 million, and the latter in 2003 for around $200 million. It was not specified in the Bloomberg article how much Bed Bath & Beyond is hoping to get from either sale.
To some, the company is a prime victim of the retail apocalypse, with a store footprint that remains heavy in the age of e-commerce. Annual revenue has dropped in each of the last two fiscal years, and losses are now commonplace on the bottom line.
The company has not yet commented on the article.
Bed Bath & Beyond's stock ticked up by 1.3% on Monday, exceeding the rise of the broader equities market.
