Bed Bath & Beyond Names Gove CEO

Nearly four months after Bed Bath & Beyond fired its CEO, the home specialty retailer has named Sue Gove as president and CEO. 

Since the retailer’s dismissal of former CEO Mark Tritton in late June, Gove has served as interim CEO. Her appointment received unanimous approval from the company’s board of directors, on which she will continue to serve.

“At Bed Bath & Beyond, we have never been more strategically and culturally focused, and I remain dedicated to executing on our back-to-basics philosophy, accelerating our performance, and focusing on financial returns,” Gove said. “To ensure our customers have access to an assortment of compelling brands, we are engaging our valued supplier community in new ways to strengthen relationships and foster collaboration.”

Under Gove's leadership, the company will continue to execute its strategic plan, announced on August 31, 2022, with a priority on strengthening its financial positioning, increasing customer engagement, driving traffic, and recapturing market share.

Key actions under her leadership (as previously announced) include:  

• Securing new financing, including an upsized $1.13 billion asset-backed revolving credit facility ("ABL facility") and a $375 million "first-in-last-out" facility ("FILO facility").
• Launch and completion of the company's 12 million share At-the-Market Offering program.
• Authorization of a new $150 million At-the-Market Offering program.
• Improving the company's cost structure through targeted expense reduction actions, real estate optimization, and reductions in capital expenditures.
• Initiating an exchange offer for the company's outstanding senior notes.
• Rebalancing the Bed Bath & Beyond assortment and inventory positioning to reflect customer preference by increasing investments in popular national brands and exiting a third of the company's owned brands.
• Accelerating strategic plans at buybuy BABY to unlock greater value, organically.
• Growing the company's cross banner Welcome Rewards loyalty program to 8 million members.
• Realigning the company's organizational structure to better support strategic priorities, including the creation of Brand President roles for the Bed Bath & Beyond and buybuy BABY banners.
• Supporting supplier partners and strengthening relationships, including the Company's first supplier summit, taking place on October 26.