The fall of Bed Bath & Beyond was drawn out and easy to predict. Overcrowded stores and a reputation for coupon usage was an uncertain strategy before the pandemic and afterwards it became an albatross they could not escape. Now, the company has returned from the beyond as an online only retailer being operated by Overstock.com. They are not the first company to take this path back to relevancy and others have proven that it is not easy to revive a brand through digital alone. Brands like Stein Mart and have made this transition, yet it is hotly debated about what has been lost in the transition. Will BB&B make a comeback or are they just delaying the inevitable?

The pandemic changed how retailers operate on a daily basis and it made focusing only on in-person operations a non-starter. Unfortunately for Bed Bath & Beyond, they were all-in on retail stores and were not prepared to pivot to digital offerings. The main draw of the brand was their wall to wall of merchandise store plan that piled items high and was averse to open space. Their online offering was lacking, and they were unable to capture the spirit of their brand online. The lack of foot traffic during the pandemic made their strategy unviable, which was the final straw for the struggling company. Prior to the pandemic, they hired Mark Tritton from Target to attempt a turnaround, yet those plans never got off the ground. It is a twist of fate that the brand will now have to survive as an online only retailer. Perhaps they will be able to capture the spirit that they were unable to years ago.

Other brands have also made this online only transition in recent years. The digital platform offers the opportunity to bring back a popular brand while operating on a smaller scale without having to worry about real estate space. If the revival doesn’t go as planned, then it is easier to span data-exit without suffering devastating losses. The strategy has worked for others like Stein Mart so far, yet the revivals haven’t come without criticism. Often, the company and people behind the revival are different than those at the original business, as is the case with Overstock running the new BedBathAndBeyond.com. On one hand this could be a seen as a positive bringing fresh ideas to the table, and on the other it could mean that the original vision and personality of the company is lost. Take Stein Mart for example, their entire brand was focused on bargain hunters who would come into the store and search for styles at a significant discount. While the new online only company certainly has deals, they are not the same as a retailer trying to clear rack space. Add in that their target audience was older shoppers who prefer physical stores and you create a disconnect between what the brand was and what it is now. It can be hard to win over customers with a drastic change and this may contribute to why we see so few companies take the online revival route.

Bed Bath & Beyond will have its work cut out for it as they try to maintain their original identity while capturing new customers. If the plan is successful, then a return to physical retail wouldn’t be out of the question. There are success stories out there and the company will have to find its footing in a saturated digital space that was a longtime weakness. This could also open the door for other closed brands to make a resurgence and open the digital doors. In the modern age, nothing is gone forever.

For suppliers, this could be a unique opportunity to have Bed Bath & Beyond carry their products, just this time on digital shelves. The online space gives retailers more leeway in terms of shelf space and allows for a greater number of products to populate their sites. For manufacturers and distributors looking to reach BB&B buyers and merchandisers, check out our Discount, Dollar, & Specialty Stores PLUS database or TORI, our exclusive ecommerce retailers dataset.