Billionaire Ryan Cohen, the Chairman of videogame retailer GameStop Corp., reportedly owns a 9.8% stake in Bed Bath & Beyond through his investment company RC Ventures LLC.
Mr. Cohen, who is also the Co-Founder of online pet product retailer Chewy Inc., is pushing Bed Bath & Beyond to explore strategic alternatives and streamline its operations.
The housewares retailer has several physical stores throughout the United States and operates the Harmon and Buybuy Baby retail chains. While the shares received an initial boost during the pandemic, they have dropped over the past year and closed at USD 16.18 on Friday.
Interestingly, the company has a turnaround plan that comprises reduction of product portfolio and unveiling new private label brands. However, this plan did not work owing to supply-chain issues causing problems to the retail industry, and it conceded sales to competitors Target Corp. and Amazon.com Inc.
In a letter written to the company board, Mr. Cohen stated that the retailer’s plan is failing, and the core sales dropped by around 14% from 2021 in the most recent quarter.
He persuaded the company to focus on maintaining the right mix of inventory to cater to demand and consider spinning off Buybuy Baby or selling the entire company. The billionaire expects the chain to reap several billion dollars considering its growth trajectory. He also believes that the entire firm could be handled better by a private equity company.
Mr. Cohen has garnered significant fame after building a huge GameStop stake and criticizing the company for its slow transition towards e-commerce in November 2020. In January last year, he joined the board of GameStop which contributed to the jump in share value fuelled by Reddit, and was appointed as the company’s Chairman in June.
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