Bed Bath & Beyond shares sink, store sales tumble
The company is in the midst of a three-year plan to 'win back customers'
Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. plunged more than 12% in early Thursday trading after the home goods retailer said quarterly sales declined 5% from the year-ago period.
The Union, N.J.-based retailer cited planned sales of non-core parts of the business, as well as continued store closings as the reason for the decline.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBBY | NO DATA AVAILABLE | - | - | - |
For the period ending Nov. 28, Bed, Bath & Beyond earned an adjusted 8 cents per share on $2.62 billion in revenue. Analysts were expecting 19 cents per share on $2.75 billion in sales.
AMAZON, HOME DEPOT, COSTCO WAREHOUSES HIT BY CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAKS, LA COUNTY SAYS
However, the company's same-store sales for its entire business rose 2%, including a 77% rise in digital sales. Online sales at the company's core Bed Bath & Beyond stores rose 94%.
"The consistent execution of our growth strategy is unlocking improved financial performance and we delivered a second consecutive quarter of comparable sales and profit growth," the company's president and CEO, Mark Tritton, said in a statement. "Additionally, we drove strong cash flow generation and balance sheet improvements in the third quarter and have re-initiated capital return to shareholders."
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage on and reshape how consumers purchase goods, Tritton added the company made more than 100 "meaningful" improvements to its digital-first customer experience.
"We are seeing a deepening level of recognition and engagement from our customers, including the more than 2 million new online customers in the third quarter," Tritton explained. "We are also seeing favorable market share trends in several of our key destination categories, including positive share gains over the past two months within the Bed category."
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS
In July, the company said it would shut approximately 200 stores over the next couple of years, including 40 this year. One month later, the company said it would eliminate approximately 2,800 jobs as part of an "organization realignment."
In October, it laid out a four-part strategic plan that it intends to execute over the next three years to try to "win back customers."