We are having an ongoing discussion in the office today about the fate of Bed Bath and Beyond as the
stock plummets over 20%, one of its worst days ever.
Does anyone actually go into a BB&B to buy something either A. without that readily available
“20% off Coupon”, or B. Without checking whether the product is available online at an even
cheaper price?
The consensus here is a resounding “No”. While the quarterly results indicate money is being spent at
the retailer, they do have sales, it continues to be a declining effort for a company that claims to be in
the early innings of their “fight” for relevancy in this new retail landscape.
Fight is a relative term, isn’t it? Ivan Drago vs. Apollo Creed in Rocky IV was technically a fight, so too
was Darth Vader vs. Luke in Empire Strikes Back or even the asteroid vs. the dinosaurs… Well, you get
the point. To add insult to injury, Amazon this very morning, opened a brick and mortar location to sell
some of their highest rated goods available on Amazon.com. It seems that Amazon is actually just now
throwing out the first pitch against traditional retailers.
The purpose of our informal poll was not to call for the death of Bed Bath and Beyond or that the
retailer has been entirely “Amazoned”. Rather, it seems that as other retailers are thriving in what is the
best consumer environment in decades, the luster of the retailer’s exciting assortment of products may
be losing its sheen faster than people thought possible. Nostalgia hits hard, and as we all had been
frequent consumers of Bed Bath and Beyond’s once unique shopping experience not long ago, we
seemed to realize that those times may not be coming back. Wall Street seems to agree.
This post is not meant to be a recommendation to buy or to sell securities nor an offer to buy or sell securities.
