Portrait of Mark Tritton, Target's new chief merchandising officer Thursday at Target August 25, ... [+]
Bed Bath & Beyond has gone beyond to find its new president. This afternoon, it named Target CMO Mark J. Tritton as its new president and CEO, effective November 4.
The news has been highly anticipated—and the subject of much speculation (including here on Forbes.com)—since the departure of the former occupant of the office, Steven Temares, this past spring. His exit was brought on by serious agitation from a group of outside investors and was part of a massive upheaval at the legacy retailer that saw its cofounders retiring and most of the board of directors ousted and replaced.
Triton becomes only the third CEO—and the first outsider—in the company’s nearly 50-year history, and he comes into an organization steeped in inbred management and a fair degree of dysfunction as it has failed to keep up with the enormous changes the retail industry has faced over the past ten years. It is generally considered to be overstored, underdeveloped in its e-commerce business, distracted by marginal banners acquired over the years and well behind the curve in merchandising efficiencies, particularly in sourcing and supply-chain management.
It adds up to a huge turnaround Tritton will be asked to manage. His résumé suggests he could be the right person for the job. For the past three and a half years as executive vice president and chief merchandising officer for Target, he has been part of its very successful transformation led by its president Brian Cornell. In charge of all merchandising, sourcing, product development, visual displays and private-label programs, Tritton has been instrumental in many of the key elements of Target’s reinvention.
Its roll-out of more than 30 house brands—a number of which have gone on to do more than $1 billion at retail—is often cited as a core element of that turnaround.
Tritton will need all of those skills in his new role at BBB. Under interim president Mary Winston, who now returns to the board, it has specifically pointed to private-label product development, more direct sourcing, a clean-up and refresh of its stores, and a more robust online operation as priorities. It is also expected to pare down its roster of store banners, a process that is believed to be well under way already.
Australian by birth, Tritton has spent much of his 30-year career on the retail side of the trade, with stints at Nordstrom and the Australian retailer Palmer Group. On the supply side, he has spent time with Nike and Timberland. This, however, marks his first time as CEO of a retailing corporation.
When he reports to work on the first Monday of November, he will no doubt focus first on assembling the team he will need to lead the company’s turnaround. A mid-level manager at corporate headquarters who wished not to be identified speculated that there could be rather large turnover in the C-level offices at BBB because many are holdovers from prior management and new CEOs generally bring in their own teams. It is likely to be one of many changes Tritton will make once he gets settled in.
But in the meantime, investors seem to like what they have seen so far. In after-hours trading, Bed Bath stock was up more than 21% in the first hour after the announcement. For a stock—and a company—that has been on a downward spiral for much of the past four years, the news was beyond encouraging.
