Bed Bath & Beyond wanted to prevent overpacked shelves
REUTERS/Emily Elconin
- Bed Bath and Beyond is updating stores to be less cluttered.
- A store in Rochester, New York had less varied merchandise and looked more organized than in the past.
- Customers flocked to the more disorganized clearance aisle.
Bed Bath and Beyond is a massive home goods store that customers rely on for everything from wedding registries to dorm room decor.
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The chain got a huge boost early in the pandemic as homebound Americans focused on home improvement.
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Source: Insider
In March 2020, Bed Bath and Beyond implemented “the biggest change in its product assortment in a generation.”
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Source: WSJ
New CEO Mark Tritton made it his mission to reduce inventory and declutter stores.
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Source: WSJ
Selling too many varieties of a single item leads to “purchase paralysis,” Tritton told The Wall Street Journal.
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Source: WSJ
The chain planned to spend up to $400 million on store remodels and other upgrades, including wider aisles to better show off the merchandise the chain chose to stock.
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Source: WSJ
The plan also included minimizing and organizing merchandise so items were no longer stacked up to the ceiling.
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The location I visited in Rochester, New York wasn’t as pared down as images of the flagship New York City store.
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Still, the gigantic store appeared more organized, with a smaller inventory than my previous visits over the years.
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Most shelves were stocked, but the variety of merchandise seemed less varied.
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For example, there were just two types of air fryers on display, but the display itself was still massive and extended nearly to the ceiling.
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The air fryers were an exception, though, and most displays I saw no longer extend so high up.
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The entire store felt a bit more open, with more space between aisles and displays.
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The location was mostly well stocked during my visit, but I did notice some empty shelves.
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Minimizing inventory and launching private-label brands contributed to some of the chain’s supply chain challenges, The Wall Street Journal reported.
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Source: WSJ
That became a pain point for the chain over the holiday season, when its top 200 bestselling items were in short supply, leading to a loss of $100 million in sales.
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Source: WSJ
Empty shelves seemed mostly to be limited to home items, not appliances.
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The empty shelves were a bit jarring in contrast to how organized the rest of the store was.
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The small clearance section near the checkout counters was the messiest area of the store.
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It was also the busiest area, showing that at least some customers may not mind the disarray the store was once known for.
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The checkout looked the same as always, with a messy selection of chargers, knickknacks and other seemingly random items near the register.
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This location also didn’t have the self checkouts the chain plans to add, just the same snack assortments and registers.
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Do you have a story to share about a retail or restaurant chain? Email this reporter at mmeisenzahl@businessinsider.com.