Mark Tritton is no longer CEO of Bed Bath & Beyond Inc BBBY — and Ryan Cohen might be one reason why.
On March 6, 2022, GameStop Corp GME Chairman Cohen sent a scathing four-page letter to the board at Bed Bath & Beyond while disclosing he was a top-five shareholder, owning 9.8% of the company’s outstanding shares.
Cohen's Criticism Of Tritton: The letter was essentially Cohen taking an active role in his stake, dissecting the company and offering assistance, something the company later accepted.
Allegations of overpaid executives and a failing strategy, as well as issues with meaningful growth, were the focus of the letter, with former CEO Tritton being named several times. Here are a few of the excerpts.
“Almost two-and-a-half years into Mr. Tritton’s tenure, Bed Bath has underperformed the S&P Retail Select Industry Index by more than 58% on an absolute basis and is looking at an approximately 29% decline in full-year sales from pre-pandemic levels,” Cohen wrote.
“Mr. Tritton should recognize that chief executives who are awarded outsized compensation and seek frequent publicity also invite much higher expectations when it comes to growth and shareholder value creation.”
It’s important to note the company’s executive officers were collectively paid $36 million in 2021.
“We do not see how Mr. Tritton is in a position to dismiss our input when shareholders have compensated him to the tune of approximately $27 million over the past two fiscal years – a number that exceeds what was paid to the chief executives of much larger retailers,” Cohen said in March.
Tritton's Departure: On Wednesday, the company announced Tritton would be leaving his role. The company reported a first-quarter loss that was bigger than anticipated, and Bed Bath & Beyond's stock is down nearly 25%.
Shortly after, Cohen tweeted this:
Tritton was appointed CEO in 2019, shortly after the company settled with a separate set of activist investors who had criticized it for being slow to respond to a shift in consumer preference for online shopping.
He made $13,764,398 in total compensation that year. Independent director Sue Gove has taken over as interim CEO.
BBBY Price Action: Bed Bath & Beyond shares were plunging 24.43% Wednesday afternoon to $4.94, according to Benzinga Pro.
Photo by Sadie Mantell via Shutterstock.
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