Home décor and furniture retailer Kirkland’s has updated its transformation strategy, and the company’s new partnership with Beyond, Inc. is now a central pillar of that effort.
For going on two years, Kirkland’s has been working to improve its performance through a combination of inventory refreshes and marketing adjustments. Those efforts got a big boost in October 2024 when the company entered a multi-faceted partnership with Bed, Bath and Beyond parent company Beyond, Inc. that included a $25 million investment from the digital conglomerate.
In exchange, Kirkland’s has agreed to become Beyond’s exclusive brick-and-mortar operator and licensee for a series of small-format (up to 15,000 square feet) “neighborhood” Bed Bath & Beyond stores. The deal now also includes the operation of BuyBuy Baby stores, following Beyond’s February 2025 acquisition of that brand.
Kirkland’s to Tap into Beyond’s Ecommerce Expertise
Kirkland’s clearly believes that its partnership with Beyond will be a driving force in its turnaround, with the company highlighting the fact that the deal will not only diversify its physical retail presence but also offer access to much-needed expertise in the realm of ecommerce.
At the moment, Kirkland’s retail performance is relatively solid, but ecommerce has been a drag on the bottom line. Kirkland’s currently operates 317 Kirkland’s Home stores in 35 states. For the Q4 of fiscal 2024 (which ended Feb. 1, 2025), preliminary results show net sales of approximately $148 million driven by comparable store growth of 1.6% compared to the same quarter in 2023; however, ecommerce declined 7.9%. Final results for Q4 2024 and the full year are expected to be released on March 14, 2025.
“Over the past year we delivered significant improvement in key operating metrics while driving consistent positive comparable brick-and-mortar store sales growth as we worked to stabilize the core Kirkland’s Home business during the first phase of our transformation,” said Amy Sullivan, CEO of Kirkland’s in a statement. “As we enter our next chapter with new assets through our partnership with Beyond, Inc., we are positioned to leverage our collective family of brands as we drive toward our path to profitability. We believe an omnichannel retail strategy focused on customer experience is foundational in building brand health, maximizing lifetime customer value and delivering sustainable profitable growth.”
Kirkland’s Strategy: Store, Ecommerce Revamps and Private Label
To do this, Kirkland’s has released a three-pronged plan to continue its turnaround efforts that will include:
- A brick-and-mortar revamp to improve or eliminate underperforming stores. Kirkland’s said it has already identified a list of approximately 6% of its stores (amounting to approximately 19 locations) that don’t meet profitability standards and are now slated for action. Depending on the location, those actions could include converting the store to a more “margin accretive” brand (that is, one of the Beyond banners); augmenting the store’s assortment strategy to drive improved profitability through the term of the lease; or closure.
- An ecommerce revamp driven by the partnership with Beyond through which Kirkland’s hopes to leverage that company’s “expertise and partnerships to enhance site experience and improve conversion, while our internal team prioritizes profitability,” according to a company statement. Internally, Kirkland’s already has begun eliminating SKUs that don’t meet margin standards after shipping, handling and returns are accounted for; expanding assortments in product categories that drive higher average order value; and reallocating lower AUR (average unit retail) inventory to brick-and-mortar stores to take advantage of more cost-effective buy online, pick up in store capabilities.
- Expanding the Kirkland’s Home brand with private label offerings that leverage the brand’s 60 years of heritage. Kirkland’s Home will become the exclusive private label assortment for everyday basics and décor in Bed Bath & Beyond stores, and the company said it already has commitments from top vendor partners to expand its product development and sourcing capabilities toward this effort.
