Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. balanced declining store sales with strong online revenue growth for the first quarter ending June 2. Furnishings are a bright spot for the home goods retailer.

Bed Bath & Beyond, No. 60 in the Internet Retailer 2018 Top 500, is using its One Kings Lane purchase to bring “decorative furnishings” to its main brand along with its sister store Buybuy Baby. The retailer’s push into furniture, lighting, art and other decorative items is still in the early stages but is showing promise, Debbie Propst, One Kings Lane president and chief merchandising officer said.

“Year-to-date through the end of the first quarter, engagement with decorative furnishings product pages on the Bed Bath & Beyond website is up about 34%,” Propst said on an earnings call, according to a Seeking Alpha transcript. “Similarly, on the Buybuy Baby website, engagement with decorative furnishings product pages has doubled.”

Average online order values for orders containing decor and furnishings products were up 4.4% for Bed Bath & Beyond from the same quarter last year, and nearly 50% higher than orders without such items. Across both stores and online, decorative furnishing sales are up 21.5% year over year.

The home goods retailer, which has been spending heavily to fight encroaching online competitors, posted an unexpected “single-digit percentage” drop in same-store sales for last quarter, according to chief financial officer Robyn D’Elia, while digital channels showed “strong” comparable growth.

advertisement

More so than some other traditional retailers, Bed Bath & Beyond faces increasing pressure as a result of selling items that consumers can easily purchase online. CEO Steve Temares has said his team is moving to transform stores to dedicate more space to so-called “deep value” items—including consumables such as food, health and beauty products—drive foot traffic. But consumables are typically low-margin goods, leaving some investors concerned about declining profit margins.

In other earnings news:

  • Nike Inc. (No. 27) reported full-year sales for its fiscal 2018, with a 25% year-over-year increase in digital commerce sales through its Nike Direct business. Nike’s grew sales on its digital platforms 34% year over year in Q4. However, operating overhead rose 14% for the quarter and 10% for the year as the retailer and brand invested more in e-commerce.
  • The Kroger Co. (No 86) increased digital sales 66% year over year during the first quarter. The grocery retailer is acquiring meal-kit service Home Chef for $200 million and is working on self-driving delivery options in a bid to continue its e-commerce growth.
Favorite