Struggling home goods chain Bed Bath & Beyond — which reportedly cut off air-conditioning at its stores to save money — dumped its chief executive officer Wednesday.
CEO Mark Tritton was pushed out after the company delivered two consecutive quarters of miserable sales results at its 771 stores in the US.
“After thorough consideration, the board determined that it was time for a change in leadership,” director Harriet Edelmen said in a statement. “We are committed to addressing the urgent issues that have been impacting sales, profitability and cash flow.”
Bed Bath & Beyond’s first-quarter sales plunged by 25% from a year ago and its losses increased by 600% — to $358 million, the Union, NJ-based company said.
The company’s shares are down more than 80% year over year, and were down another 20% after Wednesday’s announcement, hovering at about $5.
Independent board member Sue Gove will take over as interim CEO. Tritton had held the top job for two and a half years.
Tritton, who joined the retailer from Target, had blamed the company’s struggles on supply chain snarls that have limited the amount of merchandise it has to sell.
Last year during the crucial holiday period, the stores were missing many of their 200 best-selling items, losing out on $100 million in sales, the company said.
It has recently begun slashing costs, including turning down the air conditioning in its stores, reducing employees’ hours, and in July, stores will open at 11 a.m. instead of 10 a.m., according to a Bank of America report.
The company said in a statement that the temperature in its stores is not the result of a corporate policy or directive.
“There have been no corporate policy changes in regard to utilities usage,” the company said in a statement.
The Bank of America report was based on the investment bank’s analysts’ visits to stores across the country.
Bed Bath & Beyond also appointed a new chief merchandising officer, Mara Sirhal, who succeeds Joe Hartsig, who is leaving the company. Sirhal joined the company in 2021 as a senior vice president.
The company has more recently faced pressure from activist investors, namely billionaire Chewy.com founder Ryan Cohen, who has urged the company to sell itself and beef up its board. The company added three new directors this year as a result of Cohen’s activism.
