Beyond, Inc. and Kirkland’s have provided more details about the former’s$5.2 million expansion of its existing credit agreement with the home décor retailer. The additional capital will allow Kirkland’s to accelerate store conversions as it prioritizes the rollout of Bed Bath & Beyond Home and Overstock stores, along with supporting plans for Kirkland’s to open BuyBuy Baby and Bed Bath & Beyond True Blue stores.
Additionally, both companies have entered an agreement for Beyond to purchase Kirkland’s intellectual property (IP) at a future date, subject to senior lender approvals. In fact, the investment signals an even closer working relationship between Beyond and Kirkland’s going forward.
BuyBuy Baby’s Online Rebirth
In the ecommerce arena, Beyond relaunched the BuyBuy Baby brand with a “Welcome Baby” event on May 8, strategically timed for Mother’s Day. “We are thrilled BuyBuy Baby is back together with Bed Bath & Beyond to create key life stage shopping moments,” said Marcus Lemonis, Executive Chairman and Principal Executive Officer of Beyond, Inc. in a statement. “The seamless integration of curated product assortment, intuitive site experience and targeted marketing represents our commitment to meeting the needs of today’s parents with our ‘Welcome Baby’ event.”
Additionally, Beyond has launched the “BABY” digital token, similar to the recently introduced “O” (for “Overstock”) token. The crowdfunded offering, managed through Beyond’s Zion Peaks subsidiary, of a tokenized digital security linked to certain BuyBuy Baby intellectual property and designed to pay an annual dividend. The O Token met its minimum investment target of $250,000 in less than two weeks.
Advertisement
Seeking Synergies Between Beyond and Kirkland’s
The new credit agreement also includes an exclusive license for Kirkland’s to develop and operate Bed Bath & Beyond Home and BuyBuy Baby stores in a “neighborhood” format, as well as enhanced collaborative efforts to maximize synergies, reduce costs and improve efficiencies.
“We see a tremendous opportunity to leverage the power of [the Beyond] brand names, which we believe will drive more consistent traffic, improve inventory turns and ultimately raise the productivity of our store base,” said Amy Sullivan, President and CEO of Kirkland’s in a statement. “In addition, Bed Bath & Beyond Home not only allows us to maximize our current Kirkland’s Home branded décor and furnishings, but it gives us permission to expand into legacy Bed Bath & Beyond brand categories such as textiles and tabletop to offer décor for every budget and every corner of your home.”
Additionally, Beyond will be allowed to convert outstanding debt owed to it into Kirkland’s common stock at a price to be determined later, but subject to NASDAQ shareholder rules if applicable. Beyond also has gained to right to provide a third director to the Kirkland’s board if Beyond owns more than 50% of the company’s outstanding capital stock.
