The Container Store Group and Beyond, Inc. (owner of Bed Bath & Beyond, Overstock, Zulily, and other online retail brands) have announced that the companies have entered into a partnership that will bring back the Bed Bath and Beyond Brand through The Container Store. There are currently two Montgomery County locations of The Container Store– in Gaithersburg and Rockville.
The companies intend for “the partnership to position The Container Store to return to profitable comparable store growth over time by utilizing and benefitting from Beyond’s intellectual property, customer data, network of brands, and affiliate relationships.” The companies expect key aspects of the partnership to include:
- Benefitting from The Container Store’s world class real estate locations and utilizing the Bed Bath & Beyond brand to launch appropriately sized spaces that showcase the iconic Bed Bath & Beyond assortment for kitchen, bath and bedroom, which will be co-branded. Through this collaboration, the companies expect to drive increased traffic for The Container Store’s core assortment and its high-margin, solution-driven Custom Spaces services business;
- Beyond will offer a global loyalty program, multiple payment solutions and ancillary insurance and protection products through The Container Store brick-and-mortar locations and website to capitalize on the whitespace opportunity for Custom Spaces and increase conversion of design leads to drive growth through the well-established, vertically integrated model;
- Beyond to integrate The Container Store’s differentiated and proprietary Custom Spaces offering, including its Elfa and Preston product lines, across Beyond’s portfolio of e-commerce banners as well as other ventures where Bed Bath & Beyond future licensed stores exist globally. This will service to drive improved revenue, inventory turns, and margins and improved customer experience for both companies;
- The Container Store will join Beyond’s growing data platform and both companies will benefit from enhanced customer analytics that The Container Store will use to improve conversion, drive traffic, and reduce both customer acquisition and retention costs; and
- Beyond to assist with expanded and renewed e-commerce platforms and strategies, driving improved customer experience, customer conversion, traffic monetization, and profitability.
As part of the terms of the collaboration, Beyond, Inc. has agreed to invest $40 million in The Container Store through a preferred equity transaction subject to certain terms and conditions, including an amendment or refinancing of The Container Store’s credit facilities in a manner commercially acceptable to Beyond.
“We are excited about the opportunities this partnership unfolds for us. We believe its benefits will further our strategic initiatives including deepening our relationship with customers, expanding our reach, and strengthening our capabilities while accelerating our return to positive same store sales growth and profitability. This agreement will enable us to harness Beyond’s data platform and analytics to better identify and target customers at critical points in their purchase journeys and enhance communications with new and existing customers. It will allow us to expand our reach across our combined network and position us to leverage Beyond’s e-commerce expertise to further our own omni-channel tools and capabilities , ” said Satish Malhotra, CEO of The Container Store. “Beyond’s enthusiasm for this collaboration is reflected in the investment they plan to make in The Container Store that will strengthen our financial position, allow us to continue to execute on our growth strategy, and deliver a best-in-class experience for our customers. We look forward to sharing more on our upcoming earnings call.”…