Starting in August in the U.S. (July in Canada), visitors to Overstock.com will be redirected to bedbathandbeyond.com. Overstock’s app will be rebranded, as well. CEO Jonathan Johnson says he has known for years that the e-commerce site, which began as a liquidator but later expanded beyond clearance wares, had a name problem. That’s why the company bet big last week and acquired Bed Bath & Beyond’s intellectual property for $21.5 million. Not everyone is convinced the bankrupt store’s battered brand name offers much value, but the acquisition also covers a trove of customer data.
By Melissa Cantor, Editor at LinkedIn News
Overstock.com will change website name to Bed Bath & Beyond as deal closes
- Overstock.com will no longer go by its eponymous name online and will instead move under the Bed Bath & Beyond domain name in the coming weeks.
- The news comes after Overstock completed its $21.5 million acquisition of Bed Bath’s intellectual property and digital assets, which it hopes will lift sagging sales.
Overstock.com is going all in on failed retailer Bed Bath & Beyond.
The e-commerce home goods retailer will no longer go by its eponymous name online and will instead move under the Bed Bath & Beyond domain name in the coming weeks after acquiring the bankrupt rival’s intellectual property, Overstock announced Wednesday.
It will relaunch the Bed Bath & Beyond website in Canada within the next week, followed by a rollout of a website, mobile app and loyalty program in the U.S. “weeks later.”
Overstock announced the moves as it completed its $21.5 million acquisition of Bed Bath’s intellectual property and digital assets. The company hopes the brand name will help to lift sagging sales.
“Bed Bath & Beyond is an iconic consumer brand, well-known in the home retail marketplace,” Overstock CEO Jonathan Johnson said in a statement. “The combination of our winning asset-light business model and the high awareness and loyalty of the Bed Bath & Beyond brand will improve the customer experience and position the Company for accelerated market share growth.”
Despite declining sales, Overstock’s stock has surged nearly 32% this year. Overstock shares jumped nearly 5% in extended trading Wednesday and also popped when it was first revealed that it successfully won the auction for Bed Bath’s assets.
In its first-quarter results in April, Overstock reported $381 million in revenue, a 29% drop from the prior-year period. The e-commerce retailer posted a net loss of $10 million. Still, the retailer’s results came in ahead of some estimates, according to Street Account.
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