DISCUSSION
Will Bed Bath & Beyond achieve its omni-always dream with its latest digital-first moves?
Written by George Anderson
Photo: Getty Images/SeanPavonePhoto
The term “omni-always” has been one of the core talking points used by Bed Bath & Beyond CEO Mark Tritton and his leadership team ever since he moved to the retailer from Target in November 2019. The chain’s most recent investments in personnel and technology can be seen as the latest signs that it is moving ever closer to realizing Mr. Tritton’s vision and achieving a turnaround in a much shorter timeframe than many thought possible.
Bed Bath & Beyond announced yesterday the addition of two key hires. Jill Pavlovich, senior vice president, digital commerce and Jake Griffith, vice president, product management, will join the retailer next week and report to Rafeh Masood, Bed Bath & Beyond’s chief digital officer. The retailer has said the two will help strengthen the company’s leadership and “drive rapid growth in its $3 billion digital business.”
Ms. Pavlovich comes to Bed Bath & Beyond from Wayfair where she was general manager and head of exclusive brands and merchandising. At Wayfair, she was responsible for developing and launching over 90 exclusive brands in an effort to fuel the online furniture retailer’s sales growth. Mr. Griffith is a Walmart veteran, most recently serving as the retailer’s general manager for sports & fitness. Before joining Walmart, he worked in numerous business strategy roles at Amazon.com. Mr. Masood said that the upcoming year will be a big one for the retailer. “We will introduce customers to the new Bed Bath & Beyond with the launch of an exciting array of customer-inspired owned brands, reimagined stores, and continued investment in faster, easier and more convenient omnichannel shopping services,” he said in a statement. “Jill and Jake bring deep merchandising, brand and digital retail experience to help accelerate our plans, innovate for our customers, and drive continued growth in sales and gross margin for our business." Mr. Masood’s mention of investments in omnichannel also points to $250 million the chain has budgeted to transform its technological backbone. Last week, the chain shared that it is upgrading its inventory management capabilities using a cloud-based platform for automated forecasting, replenishment and allocation planning as it seeks to decrease out-of-stocks, drive inventory turns and generate greater sales and profits. Bed Bath & Beyond’s inventory management news follows previous announcements that the company was modernizing its enterprise resource planning (ERP) and expanding its use of other cloud-based solutions.View this post on Instagram
- Bed Bath & Beyond Appoints Jill Pavlovich And Jake Griffith To Accelerate Growth Of Its $3 Billion Digital Business – Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.
- Bed Bath & Beyond Advances Technology Transformation With Selection Of RELEX Solutions To Modernize Inventory Management – Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.
- Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. Expands Google Cloud Partnership To Accelerate Its Omni-Always Transformation And Better Serve Customers – Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.