Kirkland’s shareholders at a special meeting approved the company’s agreement initiated with Beyond, Inc., which will result in Kirkland’s moving forward with the development of new brick-and-mortar operations for Bed Bath & Beyond and Buy Buy Baby.
Kirkland’s obtained the requisite shareholder approvals of the agreement, with 97% of votes cast in favor of the proposal, the company maintained. For its part, Beyond completed an $8 million equity purchase that was part of the deal, as well as the mandatory conversion of an $8.5 million term loan. With the transaction completed, Beyond has provided Kirkland’s with a total of $25 million in capital and owns approximately 40% of Kirkland’s outstanding shares of common stock.
In effect, the agreement makes Kirkland’s the development engine for Beyond’s banners, with Bed Bath & Beyond first up for a physical “neighborhood” store concept set to debut later this year that will be smaller than the banner’s past formats. Plans call for a Buy Buy Baby brick-and-mortar presence, too, one that could include operations in Bed Bath & Beyond stores, store locations of its own or both.
In announcing completion of the deal, Amy Sullivan, Kirkland’s CEO, said, “Today marks a pivotal moment for Kirkland’s, as the completion of this transaction and ongoing value of our strategic partnership with Beyond begin to unlock new drivers of transformation following our efforts over the past year focused on revitalizing the Kirkland’s brand. I am immensely proud of the team and the significant improvements we continue to make through our strategic initiatives of reengaging our core customer, refocusing our product assortment and strengthening our omnichannel capabilities.”
Sullivan added, “Together with the Beyond team, we will continue to leverage Kirkland’s core strengths including our merchandising, store operations and supply chain expertise and infrastructure to build a cohesive omnichannel strategy for Beyond’s portfolio of iconic brands. Plans are underway for our first Bed Bath & Beyond store opening later this year, and we look forward to continuing to explore opportunities to maximize the value of our partnership. We enter fiscal 2025 with additional capital, new opportunities for growth and an intense focus on aggressively addressing underperforming assets and delivering improved profitability.”
Beyond Executive Chairman Marcus Lemonis, noted, “Our investment and the overwhelming shareholder support reinforces the value we see in Kirkland’s and its management team. Through this strategic partnership we are committed to leveraging the strengths of each company to drive long-term sustainable growth as we work together to build the omni-channel strategy across our family of brands,”
