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Shares of Overstock.com (OSTK) Jump 20% after Announcing Rebrand for Bed Bath and Beyond
On Thursday, June 29, the price of Overstock.com (NASDAQ: OSTK) shares skyrocketed by 20% and closed the day at $30.57. This happened the day after Overstock announced that it plans to change its website name to Bed, Bath and Beyond.
Overstock.com had paid a sum total of $21.5 million for using the brand Bed, Bath and Beyond, after it filed for bankruptcy in April. The E-commerce retailer announced that it shall stop using its official website and rather operate under the domain of Bedbathandbeyond.com.
This news comes after the federal bankruptcy court approved Overstock’s demand of taking over the intellectual property assets of Bed Bath & Beyond. Note that this deal doesn’t include the physical stores of BB&B, which would be closing pretty soon.
Jonathan Johnson, the CEO of Overstock, expressed that the company’s current product offerings are no longer aligned with its previous liquidation-focused model, and as a result, the name “Overstock” no longer accurately represents the nature of the business. Speaking to CNBC’s The Exchange, he added:
“We started out 20-plus years ago as a liquidator and became a general merchandiser. Now we’re a home furnishings and furniture company and there [were] a lot of headwinds with the name Overstock, headwinds with customers who were confused who we were and what we were selling, headwinds with suppliers that didn’t want to necessarily sell if it was associated with liquidation.”
BB&B Has Strong Brand Awareness and Recall
Johnson believes that despite the collapse this year and eventual bankruptcy, Bed Bath & Beyond offers a strong brand awareness in the market. He added that both Overstock and BB&B has overlapping customers which will help make the transition smoother.
Johnson added:
“We’ll do this transition slowly where the Overstock customer will come to the new website and will recognize it, but so will the Bed Bath & Beyond customer. And then over time, we’ll sunset out the Overstock feel.”
During a recent call with analysts, Johnson assured shoppers that Bed Bath & Beyond’s renowned coupons will continue to be available, at least for a transitional period. However, he also mentioned that the company intends to reduce the frequency and depth of discounts in the long run.
“One thing that Bed Bath & Beyond customers will realize is that our non-coupon price is really good. And I think people will be very surprised with the deals that Overstock and now Bed Bath & Beyond is able to offer and has been offered,” he said.
The relaunch of the Bed, Bath & Beyond website shall happen in Canada by the next week. Later in the coming weeks, there will be a subsequent rollout of a website, mobile app, and loyalty program in the US.
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Shares of Overstock.com (OSTK) Jump 20% after Announcing Rebrand for Bed Bath and Beyond
