Obviously MT was not the answer. Yeah, he did things for TGT, and bringing BOPIS into the 21st century probably stopped BB&B from going under during lockdown. But stock buybacks, brand replacement, centralization, and spending a fortune to try to make the backroom look like Ritz by comparison eventually proved fatal. That being said, things started going downhill long before MT was brought on board. So...
What would have been the answer?
Outdated infrastructure and stock buybacks were the problem before MT. Then came the mistake of thinking people would buy anything branded BBBY. But so many mistakes. Retention of incompetent full timers, letting good workers go and pushing them out the door after COVID while dolls and slackers were retained. Good managers gone and bad managers retained.
Money made during the good years should have been reinvested in stores and employees. It was not. It was used for buybacks to bolster the C suite.
The issue wasn’t the assortment in merchandise. The company had the right merchandise. It was the inconsistency throughout the company. I worked in 5 stores. Each store had different merchandise standards, not to mention return policy and accountability. As a consumer shopping at a bed bath was chaotic. One store had a higher standard while the store down the street looked like kMart after a busy holiday weekend. The company retained underperforming managers who were toxic to worked with. The list can go on and on but merchandise wasn’t the issue.
Maybe if we didn't keep opening so many stores? Like you said, upgrade the technology. Stop over buying. There were times when the store was so full I'd be walking around with a u box and have absolutely nowhere to back stock it. Mid stock was busting at the seams and top stock was insane. Hard to believe when I started they bragged about being debt free and just a little over a decade later here we are.