Playing into people’s sense of nostalgia for something is usually a winning strategy. But it sure helps when people are, y’know, actually nostalgic for that thing.
![Bed Bath & Beyond search interest over time](https://20627419.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/20627419/hubfs/The%20Hustle/Assets/Images/1248390843-19-News-Brief_2023-08-20T225804.606Z.webp?width=595&height=400&name=1248390843-19-News-Brief_2023-08-20T225804.606Z.webp)
The retailer formerly known as Overstock is staking its future on the idea that people are clamoring for the once-dead Bed Bath & Beyond. To recap, per Bloomberg:
- In April, Bed Bath & Beyond went bankrupt, shuttering all stores.
- In June, Overstock dropped $21.5m for the decrepit husk of the Bed Bath & Beyond brand.
- This month, Overstock rebranded to Bed Bath & Beyond.
Is this gonna work?
We’ll see, but Overstock — with its business down 20% YoY in Q2 — can’t be blamed for trying.
Overstock CEO Jonathan Johnson said he thought his company “had a good operating model but a bad name” while “Bed Bath & Beyond had a great name but a bad operating model,” per The Washington Post.
- It’ll be, Johnson told Bloomberg, a “match made in retail heaven.”
But this ignores the fact that Bed Bath & Beyond spent years in decline.
In 2021, the brand scored its lone bright spot of the last decade when the home goods chain became a memestock.
That didn’t translate to a sustainable business either — that same year, Bed Bath & Beyond lost ~5m customers from its once-loyal fan base.
What happens next?
It’s early, so the jury remains out. Maybe we’ll be eating crow — served on some 20%-off dinnerware — and the rebranded retailer will bounce back.
But for now, we can assign one loser in all of this: original Bed Bath & Beyond stockholders.
- Last month, it was confirmed they’ll be “left empty-handed,” per The Street.
Some solace: Being empty-handed is bad, but nothing could feel worse than spending ~$29 to cover your hand in a “Life is better with cats” oven mitt.