B3 sales up despite soft home market

UNION, NJ Bed Bath & Beyond today reported net earnings of 38 cents per diluted share in the fiscal first quarter ended June 2. In the fiscal first quarter of 2006 the company reported net earnings of 35 cents per diluted share. Net sales for the fiscal first quarter of 2007 were approximately $1.55 billion, an increase of approximately 11.3% from net sales of $1.4 billion reported in the fiscal first quarter of 2006. Comparable-store sales for the fiscal first quarter of 2007 increased by approximately 1.6%, on top of an increase of approximately 4.9% in last year's fiscal first quarter.

Steven Temares, ceo and member of the board of directors of Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. stated, "While we continue to see that the overall retailing environment, especially sales of merchandise related to the home, is challenging, we have taken a long-term approach to our business and work to continue to distance ourselves from our competitors by remaining focused on being our customers' first choice for the products we offer, domestically, interactively, and over the long-term, internationally. Consistent with this, we were very pleased to have recently executed a lease for our first international store, located in Richmond Hill, Ontario, north of Toronto."