Dive Brief:
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Bed Bath & Beyond is pursuing global sales in key international markets, starting with a licensing agreement for stores in Mexico, owner Beyond Inc. said Tuesday. The program could expand to the company’s other names, which include Overstock, Zulily and other DTC brands.
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Branded textiles across home categories, including bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and patio, will be sold via product licensing deals with mass-market retailers, off-pricers and online marketplaces, per a Beyond Inc. press release.
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Beyond Inc. has granted a category license to PEM America for fashion bedding, utility bedding, sheets, bath linens and accessories, and window and soft home decor. PEM America produces licensed and private label goods, and its licensed brands include Cannon, Charisma, Simmons and Christian Siriano.
Dive Insight:
Beyond Inc. is pursuing a playbook, perfected by the likes of Authentic Brands Group, that leverages brand equity while leaving many operational risks to other entities. The licensing setup is a way to “bring the beloved Bed Bath & Beyond brand back to life in this new and exciting way,” according to a statement from Beyond Inc. Executive Chairman Marcus Lemonis.
“Through affordable, quality goods that will soon be on retail shelves – both physical and online – we’re reinvigorating the brand and returning it to its core,” he said.
In a statement, Beyond Inc. Chief Financial and Administrative Officer Adrianne Lee noted that the company has also found other ways to monetize its IP investments, including the April sale of its rights to the Wamsutta brand for $10.25 million. That sale recouped about half of what then-Overstock paid for the legacy home goods retailer: Wamsutta’s intellectual property was among the assets the company acquired when it bought Bed Bath & Beyond for $21.5 million a little over a year ago.
“This is just the beginning of our management team’s mandate to monetize our intellectual property and assets,” Lee said.
Those assets presumably include a long string of new brands developed by Bed Bath & Beyond during CEO Mark Tritton’s tenure. Tritton, a merchant widely seen as a private label specialist from his years at Target and Nordstrom, left in 2022 amid ongoing declines.
Beyond Inc. didn’t immediately return a request for more information about whether any of those brands may be licensed or if licensing will be limited to the legacy Bed Bath & Beyond brand itself. Alexander Thomas, Beyond Inc.’s senior vice president of finance and corporate development, said the company “will continue to explore partnerships with manufacturers and retailers who share our vision.”
“We are excited to unlock the value of the Bed Bath & Beyond brand in new and meaningful ways,” Thomas said.
