Home decor retailer Kirkland's plans to step up its store conversions, transforming about 75 of its namesake locations into Bed Bath & Beyond sites and another 30 of them into brick-and-mortar Overstock.com outposts.
Nashville, Tennessee-based Kirkland's also said Tuesday it will be rebranding itself as The Brand House Collective, "reflecting the company's transformation into a multi-brand merchandising, supply chain and retail operator," effective July 24. The chain will also change the company's ticker symbol from "KIRK" to "TBHC," pending shareholder approval.
In addition, Kirkland's said it is "executing an operational reset to streamline our footprint, strengthen core execution and build a stronger foundation for the future." Following the closing of underperforming stores, Kirkland's will be left with roughly 290 locations versus the 313 it has now. Kirkland's didn't respond to an email from CoStar News seeking comment.
The move reflects the way the company's strategy is connecting branding and real estate.
"Our future real estate approach will align with the distinct identity of each brand and be positioned in neighborhoods where our customer prefers to shop," Kirkland's said. "With a stronger foundation in place and a data-driven lens on market opportunity, we will evaluate all opportunities for growth including expanding company-owned locations and testing potential franchise opportunities."
The retailer is accelerating a plan, unveiled in October, to partner with Utah-based Beyond to revive Bed Bath & Beyond as a brick-and-mortar chain. The partnership was later expanded to include Buy Buy Baby and to launch Overtock.com as a physical retailer. Beyond owns those three brands, and Kirkland's plans to transform some of its namesake stores to those banners.
Efforts to revive once-defunct retailers have had mixed results. WHP Global successfully resurrected Toys R Us and Babies R Us, but a prior effort by another company to revitalize Buy Buy Baby failed.
Kirkland's previously said it would pilot opening about five small-format Bed Bath & Beyond stores in the Nashville area. It reiterated that plan but is speeding up the overall rollout, saying it accelerated the launch of Bed Bath & Beyond Home stores through full-market conversions of existing Kirkland's Home stores.
The first Bed Bath & Beyond store is slated to open in Brentwood, Tennessee, in August, with five more to follow in the market.
"The Greater Nashville area was selected as our launch market given our headquarters presence, allowing us to closely manage every detail and set the standard for future rollouts," Kirkland's said. "Pending the results of the initial market we plan to convert approximately 75 stores through 2026. To support the brand transition, drive awareness and accelerate our overall growth, we will also co-brand the Kirkland's Home website with Bed Bath & Beyond Home, creating a unified online experience as store conversions begin."
Kirkland's also sees "tremendous opportunity to bring the Overstock brand to life in physical retail and have identified the first Nashville location with plans to expand to approximately 30 locations after the initial pilot," the company said.
Kirkland's is also finalizing store designs for Buy Buy Baby and other potential concepts, according to the retailer.
Kirkland's reported first-quarter earnings on Tuesday, but it canceled a scheduled conference call. The firm announced a corporate reorganization, with all brand and functional leaders now reporting directly to Amy Sullivan, Kirkland's CEO, the soon-to-be CEO and chief merchant and creative officer of The Brand House Collective.
In a statement, Sullivan said, "From the moment our partnership with Beyond began it was clear that our model needed to evolve."