Shares fell 13 percent in early trading as the company’s first-quarter net sales fell 25 percent, rounding a year of sales that slipped below market expectations. The rejection of the top management comes just months after activist investor and billionaire Ryan Cohen criticized the retailer for an “overly ambitious” strategy, which pays top executives and failed to reverse market losses. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Cohen, who is also president of GameStop Corp. (GME.N), had denounced Tritton’s $ 27 million in compensation over the past two years, saying it was much more than what top bosses earned at major retailers, including Macy’s. (MN), Kohl’s (KSS.N), and Dollar Tree (DLTR.O). An exterior view shows a Bed Bath & Beyond store in Novi, Michigan, USA, January 29, 2021. REUTERS / Emily Elconin “Mr. Tritton should recognize that high-paying executives who seek frequent publicity also raise much higher expectations for shareholder growth and value creation,” Cohen said in March. The company then reached an agreement with Cohen to appoint three new directors, two of whom to the committee investigating options for its baby products unit. On Wednesday, it appointed Sue Gove, head of the strategy committee and independent director, to replace Tritton on a temporary basis. Tritton became CEO in 2019, shortly after the retailer agreed with another group of investor activists who had criticized it for failing to adapt quickly to a change in consumer preferences for online shopping. Bed Bath & Beyond also replaced Joe Hartsig, head of merchandising, with Mara Sirhal, general manager of Harmon Health and Beauty Stores, as she struggles to overcome the supply chain problems that plagued her for most of the pandemic. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Uday Sampath in Bangalore. Edited by: Arun Koyyur Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
