Bed Bath & Beyond, Activists Settle -- WSJ

By Allison Prang

This article is being republished as part of our daily reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S. print edition of The Wall Street Journal (May 30, 2019).

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. named four new independent directors to its board and reached a settlement with activist investors who had been pressing the company to make leadership changes.

Bed Bath & Beyond, which not long ago reported its first loss and decrease in sales for a fiscal year as a publicly traded company, was being pressured by three activist investors who thought the company hadn't adapted to new consumer behavior. The investors had aimed to revamp the company's board.

The company said it entered into an agreement with the three activists -- Legion Partners, Macellum Advisors and Ancora Advisors, which in total own about 5.2% of Bed Bath and Beyond. All four of the directors the company appointed were a part of the activist group's slate of nominees. The group had most recently proposed a slate of 10. The investor group will withdraw its slate and vote for those the company has recommended in coming annual shareholder meetings.

Bed Bath & Beyond on Wednesday said it appointed the following new directors to its board: John Fleming, previously global e-commerce chief executive of Uniqlo Co. Ltd.; Sue Gove, president of retail consulting firm Excelsior Advisors LLC; Jeffrey Kirwan, previously global president and CEO of The Gap Inc.'s Gap division; and Joshua Schechter, who has chaired various public boards and is a private investor.

A dozen of the company's 13 board directors now have joined the board over the past couple of years, Bed Bath & Beyond said.

"Together with the existing board members, these four new independent directors will help the company navigate the current omnichannel retail environment and pursue our shared goal of enhancing shareholder value," the investor group said.

Bed Bath & Beyond is also still looking for a permanent chief executive after its former CEO resigned earlier this month. Its interim CEO is Mary Winston, previously chief financial officer for Family Dollar Stores Inc.

Based in Union, N.J., Bed Bath & Beyond operated 1,533 retail stores as of March 2.

Write to Allison Prang at allison.prang@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 30, 2019 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)

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