• Bed Bath & Beyond is being slammed by a group of activist investors who released a presentation with more than 150 slides pointing out everything wrong with the retailer.
• The group called out certain problem areas, including inefficient store layouts and selling too many different kinds of garbage cans – a problem the group called “garbage cans galore.”
• Bed Bath & Beyond has already shuffled its board of directors and is in the midst of executing a turnaround plan.
• Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

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Bed Bath & Beyond is selling way too many trash cans.

That’s the consensus of a group of activist investors – Legion Partners, Macellum Capital Management, and Ancora Advisors – pressuring the retailer and CEO Steven Temares to take a more dramatic position in turning around the futures of the struggling retailer.

“Historical performance demonstrates Bed Bath & Beyond’s Board and management have failed shareholders,” the investors wrote in a presentation with more than 150 slides. “We believe Bed Bath has enormous potential under new leadership – our goal is to reinvigorate Bed Bath and restore a winning culture.”

One of the more specific criticisms levied by the group related to how the retailer merchandises and sells groups of product. The example used: garbage cans.

In one store walkthrough, the group found “trash baskets in six different locations within the store and an entire wall.”

Read more:
Bed Bath & Beyond’s stores have been called ‘a mess,’ but the chain might be starting to turn that around

The group described the excessive garbage can selection as “garbage cans galore.”

This particular slide was accompanied by photos as evidence, all of which were taken from a single site.

“Square footage inside store can be reallocated to eliminate redundancy and improve productivity,” the group writes.

In other parts of the presentation, the group criticised the retailer for selling too many different kinds of certain products, having cluttered aisles throughout the store, and being too slow to embrace e-commerce and omnichannel initiatives like buying online and picking up in store.

In response, Bed Bath & Beyond acknowledged most of the group’s complaints as things it has already thought of or realised – and is either implementing or considering.

“Upon our initial review, it appears that most of the operational areas targeted for improvement include actions the Company is already taking as part of its transformation plan, which are already well underway, or have been substantially completed,” the company said in a statement on Friday.

“Other target areas identified include actions that have been, and continue to be, considered by Bed Bath & Beyond. The company will provide a more detailed response at the appropriate time.”

Bed Bath & Beyond has already refreshed its board, with five directors stepping down on Monday, but the activist group has called for most of the board – and Temares – to be replaced.

“Bed Bath & Beyond is executing on a comprehensive multi-year transformation plan to strengthen its position as the expert for the home and heart-felt life events,” the retailer’s statement continued.

“The plan is well underway and delivering results. The Company’s Board of Directors and management are open to value enhancing ideas from all shareholders, and will carefully review the merits of the Activist Group’s presentation for opportunities to incorporate their feedback into its plan.”

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