CEO of Bed Bath & Beyond despite constant pressure from activists | Chain Store Age



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The long-time director of Bed Bath & Beyond has resigned under the constant pressure of activist investors, who blame him for the chain's failing performance and advocate for change.

The property chain of the house announced that Steven Temares had stepped down as CEO and had resigned as a board member effective immediately. Mary Winston, who recently joined the board of directors, was appointed interim chief while the company seeks a permanent replacement. In addition, Andrea Weiss, Board Member and Retail Consultant, will oversee the company's strategy and transformation plans and work closely with Winston.

Winston's experience in the retail industry includes executive vice president and chief financial officer of Family Dollar Stores Inc. and senior vice president and chief financial officer of Giant Eagle. She has also held the positions of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Scholastic Corporation. Bed Bath & Beyond, looking for a permanent leader, said it would focus on people with experience of transformation and innovation "in the sales sector by retail.

"Bed Bath & Beyond has a significant opportunity to generate value by building on its excellent brands and strong customer affinity," said Patrick Gaston, independent chairman of the board of directors. "As the company continued its efforts to improve its financial performance and competitive position, the board of directors decided that the time had come to identify the next generation of leaders."

Temares, a 27-year veteran of Bed Bath & Beyond, has been CEO of the chain since 2003. This change of management comes as Bed Bath & Beyond is under increasing pressure from a group of investors. activists – Legion Partners Asset Management, Macellum Advisors and Ancora Advisors – to replace the entire board and oust Temares. The group has been outspoken in its reviews of Bed Bath & Beyond's performance and recently released a more than 100-page document describing Bed Bath & Beyond's "outdated retail perspective." a decade of underperformance.

Before publishing the document, the group launched an initiative to replace the 12-member Bed Bath & Beyond Board with a list of 16 candidates. In response, the channel announced that two members would leave the board, thus reducing the size to 10. (The retailer noted that with the departure of Temares, the board is reduced to nine members). Investors called the move "too little, too late." Last week, Legion Partners filed a lawsuit against Bed Bath & Beyond, saying the company had bypassed shareholders' rights to reorganize the list of directors.

Analyst Neil Saunders, Managing Director of GlobalData Retail, said Temares' resignation as CEO is a "necessary first step to revitalize the fate of the beleaguered retailer". and has not managed to keep pace with a changing homewares market.

"However, as we have already said, the reshuffling of the management team will not in itself produce the required change," said Saunders. "Bed Bath & Beyond must now look for a leader who can put in place a plan to reorganize society to adapt to the modern realities of retail."

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