10 of the most brutal criticisms activist investors lobbed at Bed Bath & Beyond in a savage presentation
Many of the most brutal criticisms are focused on Bed Bath & Beyond's "poor shopping environment that is neither experiential nor curated."
The presentation also puts it more bluntly: "Stores are a mess."
More snark from the same slide: "Customers need to be able to walk down the aisle to purchase the product."
The presentation describes the scene as "random assortments shoved into fixtures."
Trash cans also proved to be a major problem for investors, who described stores as "garbage cans galore."
Apparently many customers complain about clutter, with the investor group citing a proprietary survey of 682 shoppers.
One respondent reportedly said: "The aisles are often too narrow and/or overcrowded with product. I'm not a huge fan of the crowded feeling in the store, which makes me not want to spend a lot of time browsing while I'm in there."
Investors cited a Business Insider article with the headline: "Bed Bath & Beyond's stores have been slammed as 'devoid of inspiration' and 'a mess.' We went shopping there and found it completely overwhelming."
Stores' merchandise assortment is slammed as "weak."
Stores lack "innovation and exclusive products that can drive traffic," the presentation states.
Bed Bath & Beyond's leadership is also criticized by investors.
"Under the current CEO, the Company's operational performance is deteriorating at an accelerating pace and he must be removed immediately and replaced with a highly qualified and capable leader," the presentation says.
Executives received "Best-in-Class Pay for Worst-in-Class Performance" the presentation states.
CEO Steven Temares' base salary was $4 million in 2017, compared to rival retailers' CEO's average base pay of $1.3 million. Temares' base pay was cut to $500,000 in fiscal 2018, though the presentation notes that this wasn't a permanent change.
Investors further took issue with the board's "excessive" perks.
The company paid co-chairmen and former co-CEOs Warren Eisenberg and Leonard Feinstein, "$229,850 for car and car service allowances and $63,700 for personal tax preparation needs, respectively ... in 2017," the presentation states.
Eisenberg and Feinstein both left the company's board on Monday.
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