In 2009, I asked a marketing representative at Overstock.com if I could interview CEO Patrick Byrne. “We’ll ask him,” he replied.
An hour or two later I got a text from Patrick Byrne: he was available.
The conversation and the interview that followed were memorable: Unusually for a public company, it took place without a PR person or any preparation.
“Should I send my questions in advance?” I asked.
“No,” he said. “Ask me anything you want.”
we The interview was published That December, I learned he had a PhD from Stanford and was funding the construction of schools around the world. During our interview, he was generous with his time and totally unpretentious, offering some helpful e-commerce tips for holiday sales and shipping.
None of that matched up with the Patrick Byrne that followed: a man constantly embroiled in litigation with investors, reportedly romantically involved with a Russian spy, and, of course, plotting in the Oval Office against President Trump.
Still, when it makes the news, such as when Overstock bought the retail chain Bed Bath & Beyond last year, I’m reminded of an interview I had with Byrne a few years ago. Get out of bankruptcy.
Byrne had long since left the company, and his successors, apparently seeking a post-pandemic turnaround, paid $21 million for what was left of the storied retailer.And so began a disastrous chain of events.
- June 2023: Acquires Bed Bath & Beyond.
- October 2023: Overstock.com rebrands as Bed Bath & Beyond, changes its name to Beyond, switches from Nasdaq to the New York Stock Exchange, and adopts a new trading symbol, BYON.
- February 2024: Net loss for 2023 was $307.8 million, a company record, on revenue of $1.56 billion, down 20% year over year.
- March 2024: Overstock.com is relaunched.
Q2 2024 Financials
By June 30, Beyond, Inc. operated two e-commerce sites. Bed Bath and Beyond (Household goods) and Overstock (Discounted item).
The second-quarter financial statements don’t break out the performance of each site separately. Overall, the sites generated revenue of about $398 million for the quarter, down 5.7% year over year, and posted a net loss of about $43 million, down 42% year over year. Improvement That’s up from a loss of $74 million in Q2 2023.
Beyond acquired another bankrupt brand, Zoolily, in March for $4.5 million in cash. The women’s and children’s clothing retailer closed in December but plans to relaunch this fall.
As of August 22, Beyond’s stock price was at $11.02, the lowest price in five years.
