Bed Bath & Beyond replaces CFO as it fills out C-suite

Dive Brief:

Bed Bath & Beyond CFO Robyn D'Elia is exiting the company for undisclosed reasons, the company announced Thursday. Gustavo Arnal has been appointed to the chief finance role effective May 4.
Arnal was previously the finance chief at Avon, and has also held senior-level positions at Walgreens Boots Alliance and Procter & Gamble, according to a company press release.
The home goods retailer on Thursday also named Rafeh Masood as chief digital officer and Gregg Melnick as chief stores officer, effective May 11. Arlene Hong has been named chief legal officer, effective May 18.

Dive Insight:

Just over a month into the job, CEO Mark Tritton effectively cleaned out his suite of executives, with the chief merchandising officer, chief marketing officer, chief digital officer, chief legal officer and general counsel, chief administrative officer and chief brand officer all exiting the company in December.

For the past couple months, Tritton's been on a hiring spree, filling those roles and building out his team. Joe Hartsig in March stepped into the chief merchant role and in April, John Hartmann was appointed chief operating officer, effective May 18.

Other than its BuyBuy Baby and Harmon Face Values banners, almost all of the retailer's locations have been temporarily shuttered to help stem the spread of coronavirus. To cut costs during this period, the company has cut executive salaries by 30%, reduced the board of directors' cash compensation by 30% and furloughed the "majority" of its store associates and a portion of corporate associates until at least May 2.

Despite the financial uncertainty around the pandemic, Tritton is charging forward with a turnaround that is likely to determine the already struggling retailer's fate.

Last month, the Bed Bath & Beyond reported fourth quarter net sales fell 6.1%, while comp sales fell 5.6%. Comp sales from physical stores fell 10%, but from its digital channels, they rose 16%. In a statement emailed to Retail Dive, Tritton hailed Masood's arrival as the retailer works to meet that increased demand online and ramp up omnichannel services. Masood previously led digital strategy at BJ's Wholesale.

"During COVID-19, we are seeing online demand grow significantly, which is further strengthening our omnichannel strategic direction," Tritton also said. Bed Bath & Beyond recently announced that it's converted about 25% of its stores in the U.S. and Canada into regional fulfillment centers which it said nearly doubles its fulfillment capacity. The retailer also introduced curbside pickup at its Harmon banner, and extended buy online, pickup in-store services and curbside delivery services to select Bed Bath & Beyond stores.

To raise cash and boost its stock value, the company has also sold off some non-core banners, including One Kings Lane and PersonalizationMall.com, though Bed Bath & Beyond last month filed a lawsuit in regards to the latter deal not yet closing as expected.