Bed Bath & Beyond to reopen 600 stores by June 13; expanding contactless curbside pickup
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. is getting ready to welcome back customers to its stores amid surging digital sales.
The home goods retailer said it plans reopen 600 stores, including about 500 Bed Bath & Beyond locations across North America, along with 50 Christmas Tree Shop stores and 50 Cost Plus World Market stores in the U.S. The re-opened stores will follow the company’s store safety plan, which includes social distancing measures, enhanced cleaning and occupancy limits.
In addition to buybuy Baby and Harmon Face Values stores, which remain open during the pandemic, the additional openings will mean that around 50% of the company's total store fleet of 1,500 locations is expected to be open by June 13. In conjunction with the reopenings, the company is bringing back approximately 11,000 furloughed workers.
Bed Bath & Beyond, which made a quick pivot to meet surging online demand during the COVID-19 pandemic, is also expanding contactless curbside pickup services to an additional 600 stores, which will give it about 1,350 stores in total offering the service. The expansion comes as traffic to the Bed Bath & Beyond website and mobile app rose about 30% in recent weeks and digital sales have doubled, according to CEO Mark Tritton.
“Customers are also responding well to the launch of BOPIS and contactless curbside pickup, with these services accounting for a meaningful percentage of our Bed Bath & Beyond U.S. digital sales in the last week, and we anticipate continued growth as we expand the service to more stores in the coming weeks,” Tritton said. "Our financial flexibility allows us to take this patient, market-by-market approach, while we invest in rebuilding our business and introducing new services for our loyal customers.”
Bed Bath & Beyond also announced a $10 million plan to donate essential items to those affected by COVID-19 this week. The 'Bringing Home Everywhere' program will deliver products that provide home comfort and essential support to communities and those on the frontline of the pandemic across the U.S. and Canada.
“Our homes have become even more central to our lives during this crisis, yet we know that for many people that sense of home has been affected by the health and economic impacts of COVID-19,” stated Tritton. “Whether it's fresh sheets, pillows and towels for people in the hospital or nursing care, food and home items for those in need, or toys or essential infant supplies for children, we're doing what we can to make it easy to feel at home for those most in need at this time."