Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ:BBBY) stock sank 10% this morning after the retailer announced that it had named Sue Gove its permanent CEO. In June, BBBY selected Gove as its interim CEO. As of writing, BBBY stock has managed to climb back up the price chart and is currently fluctuating around 4% in the red.
Gove’s Background
The executive has served on BBBY’s board since May 2019. She worked at Golfsmith International for nearly six years and left the company in 2014 after serving as its CEO for 19 months. A retailer of golf-oriented products, Golfsmith declared bankruptcy in 2016. Gove has also been a board member of PC accessories maker Logitech (NASDAQ:LOGI) and of AutoZone (NYSE:AZO), an auto-parts retailer.
During her tenure as interim CEO of Bed, Bath, and Beyond, she obtained “an upsized $1.13 billion asset-backed revolving credit facility… and a $375 million “first-in-last-out” facility,” BBBY noted. She also authorized “a new $150 million At-the-Market Offering program,” reduced the retailer’s costs, and eliminated 33% of its brands. Additionally, Gove has increased the company’s spending on its more popular brands.
Gove was at the company’s helm in August, when (as I reported at the time) “Ryan Cohen’s RC Ventures disclosed… that it had sold all of its bullish positions in BBBY stock.” The founder of e-commerce company Chewy (NYSE:CHWY) and the chairman of video-game retailer and meme stock GameStop (NYSE:GME). Cohen created a great deal of controversy by unloading all of his bullish bets on BBBY stock. That’s because, just three days before he did so, his company “reported that it had purchased call options on 1.67 million shares of Bed Bath & Beyond in a separate SEC form,” igniting a huge rally by BBBY stock.
Other Information About BBBY Stock
After the retailer unveiled debt exchange offers, S&P cut its rating on the company’s debt to CC from CCCC. The firm said it views the move as similar to a “default” because, under the offers, BBBY’s debtholders will receive an amount below what they were owed.
On the date of publication, Larry Ramer did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
