Kirkland’s announced a corporate rebranding and business reorganization, along with details about the forthcoming relaunch of Bed Bath & Beyond-branded physical stores, after posting a first-quarter net loss and comparable sales that didn’t meet analyst estimates.
Kirkland’s plans to officially change its name to The Brand House Collective, Inc., pending shareholder approval, at the company’s July 24 annual meeting. The company said the name change will reflect its transformation into a multi-brand merchandising, supply chain and retail operator leading the brick-and-mortar strategy for Kirkland’s Home, as well as the growing portfolio of home and family brands, including Bed Bath & Beyond, Overstock and BuyBuy Baby, owned by Kirkland’s partner Beyond.
Kirkland’s has set an August 2025 launch in Brentwood, TN, of a newly named Bed Bath & Beyond Home physical retail store, the first brick-and-mortar location under a Bed Bath & Beyond banner, since Beyond, Inc. (formerly Overstock) acquired the Bed Bath & Beyond assets in 2023. Beyond in 2024 invested $25 million in Kirkland’s, and in May of this year, Beyond acquired Kirkland’s intellectual property for $5 million as part of a buy-and-license-back deal.
After the opening of the Brentwood, TN, location, five more Bed Bath & Beyond Home launches are planned for the Nashville metropolitan area. Each will be a Kirkland’s Home store conversion. Pending the results of the initial market operation, Kirkland’s plan is to convert about 75 of its namesake stores to the Bed Bath & Beyond Home banner through 2026.
By consolidating real estate and reducing excess inventory as part of the business reorganization, Kirkland’s reported that it can drive faster stock turn and maximize return on assets. Through its consolidation efforts, the company expects to move forward with about 290 store locations as the foundational footprint for Kirkland’s Home, Bed Bath & Beyond Home and Overstock. The company currently operates 313 stores. Kirkland’s and Beyond have selected Nashville as the market to pilot an Overstock physical store, with plans calling for an expansion to some 30 locations after the initial pilot. In the meantime, Kirkland’s pointed out that the company is finalizing store designs for BuyBuy Baby brick-and-mortar stores and other potential retail concepts.
Amy Sullivan, CEO of Kirkland’s (pictured above), said: “As announced today, we are entering a new era in our organization as we reimagine our future as a multi-brand retail operator, maximizing our partnership with Beyond. We are realigning our business to drive performance and profitability, strengthening our team, sharpening our operational discipline to improve inventory productivity, and accelerating the brand conversion or closure of underperforming assets across our portfolio. While we expect these decisive actions and the optimization of our assets to impact near-term performance, we believe rebuilding our foundation will unlock significant operating leverage, drive sustainable profitable growth and create long-term value for our shareholders.”
Kirkland’s net loss was $11.8 million, or 54 cents per diluted share, versus $8.8 million, or 68 cents per diluted share, in the year-previous quarter.
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding in the first quarter were about 22.1 million compared to 13 million in the past-year period, primarily due to Beyond’s acquisition of 8.9 million shares of Kirkland’s common stock, the company noted. Adjusted for one-time events, net loss was $11.3 million, or 51 cents per diluted share, versus a net loss of $8.4 million, or 65 cents per diluted share, in the year-before quarter.
An analyst estimate published by Yahoo Finance called for a loss of 47 cents on revenue of $85.6 million.
Net sales were $81.5 million versus $91.8 million in the prior-year quarter. A decline in e-commerce and comparable sales, along with a decline in store count of approximately 5%, drove the decrease, the company maintained. Consolidated company comparable sales declined 8.9% year over year, including a 3.1% decrease in comparable store sales and a 26.7% decrease in e-commerce sales. A decline in consolidated average ticket and e-commerce traffic, partially offset by an increase in store conversion, drove the comp decrease.
Operating loss was $10.5 million versus an operating loss of $7.5 million in the year-earlier quarter, Kirkland’s reported, while adjusted operating loss was $10 million versus $7.1 million.
In announcing the financial results, Sullivan said, “Like many in retail, our first-quarter performance was impacted by weather and the continued softness in consumer sentiment. Despite these challenges, we saw improvements in our store performance for the combined March and April period. While our e-commerce business remains pressured, and was exacerbated in late May by weather-related disruptions in our Jackson, TN, distribution center, we continue to see momentum in our Kirkland’s Home stores, which saw comparable store sales up approximately 3% versus last year for the month of May. While encouraged by our store performance, it is time to accelerate our transformation. We have already begun to take actions in moving excess and slower turning inventory in the first quarter and will continue the elimination of underperforming assets as we expand the utilization of our Bed Bath & Beyond, Overstock and Buy Buy Baby licenses.”
Kirkland’s also has updated the executive suite while transitioning to its new name, the company stated.
Jamie Schisler was named COO, responsible for overseeing operations including planning and allocation, marketing, e-commerce, and technology. Schisler has had leadership roles at Abercrombie & Fitch, Express and UpWest.
Kerri Dlugokinski was named vice president, general merchandising manager, Bed Bath & Beyond Home, responsible for supervising banner merchandising. Dlugokinski has more than 20 years of experience at Target Corp., where she held leadership roles across both fashion and home categories.
Courtenay Adolf was named vice president of supply chain, responsible for managing global sourcing, transportation and distribution centers. Adolf has supply chain strategy and network optimizations experience that improved efficiency and reduced cost for companies such as Target, CSS Industries and Eversana.
Sullivan further commented, “From the moment our partnership with Beyond began, it was clear that our model needed to evolve. The Brand House Collective is more than a new name; it’s a bold declaration of where we’re headed. We’re aligning our identity with our vision to become a multi-brand merchandising, supply chain and retail operator, and backing it with decisive actions to strengthen our foundation: reducing excess inventory, closing underperforming locations, optimizing real estate assets and enhancing talent across the organization. We are building a leaner, flatter and performance-led organization driven by transformation, anchored in accountability and powered by new ideas that we believe will deliver results.”
