Overstock.com’s
newest director, reality-television host
Marcus Lemonis,
bought up shares of the retailer.
Overstock (ticker: OSTK), which rebranded itself as Bed Bath & Beyond earlier this year after buying the intellectual property of that bankrupt retailer, named Lemonis to its board on Oct. 2. Lemonis, longtime host of The Profit on CNBC and the chairman and CEO of
Camping World Holdings
(CWH), now hosts HGTV’s The Renovator, a show about home improvement and beyond.
Jonathan Johnson, CEO of Bed Bath & Beyond, said in a press release, “I expect to work closely with [Lemonis] as he takes a bigger and more meaningful role on the board.” Shares are about 20% in the red this year, and have lost more than half their value since early August, when investor optimism was running high for the rebranded company.
From Oct. 4 through Oct. 6, Lemonis paid $1.7 million for a total of 107,000 Overstock shares, an average price of $16.40 each. These are Lemonis’ first open-market purchases of the stock as an Overstock director.
“I’m excited to join the board, I’m excited to buy the stock, and I’m excited by what Bed Bath & Beyond can become,” Lemonis said in a phone interview.
The time looks ripe for a well-known brand in home furnishings. “The consumer is fragile right now,” says Lemonis. “We have to assume people are going to stay in their homes longer” rather than buy better houses. “They’re going to buy a new bedroom set, and upgrade their kitchens.”
Inside Scoop is a regular Barron’s feature covering stock transactions by corporate executives and board members—so-called insiders—as well as large shareholders, politicians, and other prominent figures. Due to their insider status, these investors are required to disclose stock trades with the Securities and Exchange Commission or other regulatory groups.
Write to Ed Lin at [email protected] and follow @BarronsEdLin.
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