Bed Bath & Beyond replaces CEO Tritton as sales clerk

June 29 (Reuters) – Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (BBBY.O) on Wednesday replaced CEO Mark Tritton as part of a management shake-up to reverse a downturn in the business, the home goods retailer said.

The shares fell 13% in pre-market trading when the company̵[ads1]7;s net sales in the first quarter fell 25%, and rounded off with a year of sales that fell below market expectations.

The rejection of top management comes just months after activist investor and billionaire Ryan Cohen criticized the retailer for an “overly ambitious” strategy, overpaid top executives and failed to reverse market share losses.

Cohen, who is also chairman of GameStop Corp (GME.N), had not approved Triton’s $ 27 million compensation in the past two years, saying it was far more than what top executives earned at major retailers, including Macy’s (MN), Kohl’s (KSS.N), and Dollar Tree (DLTR.O).

“Mr. Tritton should realize that CEOs who are awarded oversized compensation and seek frequent publicity also invite much higher expectations when it comes to shareholder growth and value creation,” Cohen said in March.

The company then reached an agreement with Cohen by appointing three new directors, two of them to the committee that examined options for the baby product unit.

On Wednesday, it appointed the head of the strategy committee and the independent director Sue Gove, who will replace Trittons on a temporary basis.

Tritton was named CEO in 2019 shortly after the retailer settled with another set of activist investors who had criticized it for not adapting quickly to a shift in consumers’ preferences for online shopping.

Bed Bath & Beyond also replaced its sales manager Joe Hartsig with Mara Sirhal, general manager of Harmon Health and Beauty Stores, as it appears to be overcoming supply chain problems that have plagued it during most of the pandemic.

Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur

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