Bed Bath and Beyond Under Pressure for its Strategy and Results
Bed Bath and Beyond Under Pressure for its Strategy and Results
You might call this one "celebrity activist investing" a bit. Apparently he is a top 5 shareholder, which is a significant number, particularly if other shareholders agree with some of his ideas....
Overall, the letter reads like a strange one particularly because of two reasons:
1 - It does not outline a comprehensive alternative agenda to generate value, other than "sell to PE," "simplify," and "improve inventory mix."
More generic advice cannot be imagined.
2 - Ryan is not in position to be a Director, which means he is not willing to be actively involved in the transformation, making this look like a sideline swipe rather than someone fully engaged.
Contrast this to the Peloton activist letter, for instance. Very detailed and specific, even if it seemed quite vindictive -- perhaps the investor thought appropriately so.
A few thoughts generally however ->
1 - One of the biggest ideas I agree with, what is historically troubled Bed Bath and Beyond still doing with Buy Buy Baby? Seems like an obvious one to streamline.
2 - With regards to Mark Tritton's plans, I would generally say it is truly hard to assess any kind of real turnaround the past 2 years, given the environment. You could argue with Mark's track record, the management team deserves more patience generally.
Which makes you hope they used this time well, because I doubt they will get too much additional time going forward.
As far as the idea that the company should be sold to PE? Perhaps - what's the core idea? Left as an exercise for the reader.
