Bed Bath & Beyond to launch six private brands in first half of 2021

Bed Bath & Beyond is moving ahead with its big push into store brands, a critical part of the chain’s turnaround strategy.

In what CEO Mark Tritton described as the biggest change in Bed Bath & Beyond’s assortment in a generation, the company will launch at least eight store brands in fiscal 2021— six in the first part of year — as it looks to appeal to younger customers and get a bigger share of the $180 billion home goods market. In total, at least 10 owned brands will be introduced in the next two years.

The private brand push will start later this month with the launch of a bed and bath collection called Nestwell. In April, Bed Bath & Beyond will relaunch its spa-inspired Haven bath brand.  It also will debut a new brand, Simply Essential, that will include more than 1,000 household essentials and “highly functional” products across multiple destination categories.

Bed Bath & Beyond said it expects the private brands to further enhance its authority in the key destination categories — bed/bath, kitchen/dining, storage/organization, and home décor — that drove growth throughout 2020 and represent over 60% of its revenue. Store brands are expected to increase from roughly 10% of overall sales to approximately 30% within the first three years.

In addition, the owned brands are expected to drive improvement in gross margin due to Bed Bath & Beyond ability to strategically design to cost and source at scale.

The new brands are part of a comprehensive strategy that includes resetting the merchandising assortment by categories and rooms, remodeling about 450 stores, enhancing a “digital first, omni-always” shopping experience and introducing a modern approach to marketing and customer engagement. The company is also removing thousands of under-performing labels, brands and products across the core destination categories which account for the majority of its assortment.

"In the next six months, we will deliver the most significant transformation of our product assortment in a generation, by providing our customers with inspirational owned brands across every room in their homes,” said Tritton, who took the reins of the company in late 2019 after leading Target’s private brand push as chief merchandising officer. “Combined with our continued investment in the key national brands consumers know and love, this will create a platform for sustainable long-term growth and true authority in the home market, while helping customers realize the potential to create a happier home in each and every room.”