Troubling sales in the last quarter have prompted retailer Bed Bath & Beyond to make a change at the CEO position. The company announced on Wednesday that Mark Tritton would leave his position as CEO and seat on the board, with board member Sue Gove taking over on an interim basis. Gove, who is considered a seasoned retail veteran, served as an Independent Director on the Company’s Board of Directors and Chair of the Board’s Strategy Committee until now.
While the CEO change might serve Bed Bath & Beyond well in the long term, the shakeup negatively affected its stock. After the news was made official, BBBY stock plunged more than 19 percent. It traded at around $5.23 per share throughout Wednesday compared to the $6.53 close on the day before. BBBY has been down 65 percent since the beginning of the year.
Bed Bath & Beyond’s fiscal 2022 first-quarter results showed that the company saw a 24 percent crash in same-store sales. The company’s sales came at $1.46 billion, which is significantly down from the $1.95 billion it reported a year earlier. It also missed the expected $1.51 billion mark.
The new leadership is expected to consider a series of aggressive moves in attempt to get the company back on track. This includes hiring advisory firm Berkeley Research Group to assess Bed Bath & Beyond’s inventory and balance sheet and reorganization of their baby brand Buybuy Baby.