eCommerce Strategy Consultant - Rick Watson - RMW Commerce Consulting

View Original

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.