Overstock.com CEO says he was jealous of Bed Bath & Beyond's name for years — now, his company is taking its name

• Overstock.com's CEO told NBC News he was always jealous of Bed Bath & Beyond's iconic name.
• After purchasing the bankrupt retailer's digital assets, Overstock has adopted the brand.

The CEO of online home goods retailer Overstock.com said he's always been jealous of Bed Bath & Beyond's name — and now, he gets to have it.

Overstock.com, led by CEO Jonathan Johnson, first bought Bed Bath & Beyond's digital assets in June after it went bankrupt earlier this year. With that purchase, Overstock has adopted Bed Bath & Beyond's brand image in place of its own — as of Tuesday, Overstock.com is out, and BedBathandBeyond.com is back in the game.

"We've looked at Bed Bath and Beyond jealously for several years," Johnson told NBC News. "We really liked their name, and it was an iconic brand people loved."

Johnson previously told Insider the Overstock name doesn't really work anymore. "We have a really nice business model with a name that could use some sprucing up," he said.

The 25-year-old company had struggled to shake its original image as a liquidation and clearance sale website, which Johnson said made it difficult to attract both customers and suppliers.

Rebranding also allows the company to shed its association with naked short-selling in the early 2000s and former CEO Patrick Byrne's romantic involvement with a Russian spy that led him to resign in 2019.

The relaunched website allows customers to use up to $50 of their rewards points from old Bed Bath & Beyond accounts.

Johnson previously indicated that the company's coupon program will likely be more than what Overstock shoppers are used to but less than what Bed Bath & Beyond customers are familiar with.