UNION, N.J.–After the launch of its first international store in Toronto last December, Bed Bath & Beyond has targeted the country for “aggressive growth,” executives said during a conference call to review fourth-quarter and full-year results.
In a bid to be “the first choice for the home in Canada,” the retailer has signed for 12 additional sites in the country and is exploring another 12 sites, Leonard Feinstein, co-founder and co-chairman, said during the call.
The retailer is also eyeing other international markets for growth.
For the quarter ended March 1, Bed Bath & Beyond’s net earnings fell to $172.9 million from $205.8 million, which included an additional week and reflected a non-recurring charge of roughly 7 cents per diluted share.
Net sales for the fiscal fourth quarter fell 3.1 percent to $1.93 billion. Sales in the fiscal fourth quarter were impacted by there being one fewer week in the period and Thanksgiving falling in the fiscal third quarter versus the fiscal fourth quarter of 2006.
Comparable-store sales for the fiscal fourth quarter of 2007 fell by 0.4 percent, compared with an increase of 5.2 percent in last year’s fiscal fourth quarter. Stateside, Bed Bath & Beyond will roll out fine china departments to more stores, although executives did not specify how many.
Its Harmon drugstore format will also expand to more stores.
The retailer said it will open 50 to 55 stores in fiscal 2008—a decrease versus prior years—as it expands, remodels and renovates a significant number of units, executives said.
It will also accelerate expansion of its Christmas Tree Shops format with plans for 12 new stores in fiscal 2008, and open several buybuy Baby stores.
Although Bed Bath & Beyond has outshined home competitors, “We are not immune to the challenges of the difficult macroenvironment,” Feinstein said.