Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. rose as much as 19.52% in after-hours trading on Oct. 9 after the U.S. home furnishing retailer hired industry veteran Mark Tritton as president, CEO and as a member of its board, effective Nov. 4.
Tritton most recently served as executive vice president and chief merchandising officer at general merchandise retailer Target Corp. In a same-day filing, Target disclosed Tritton's departure, saying the company appointed two Target executives to assume interim leadership of Target's merchandising organization.
The retail chain also named a new CFO the same day.
Before his role at Target, Tritton held positions at Nordstrom Inc., Timberland LLC and NIKE Inc.
At Bed Bath & Beyond, Tritton will succeed interim CEO Mary Winston, who was appointed to the role in May. May will remain on the company's board and will work with Tritton and Chairman Patrick Gaston to ensure an orderly transition, the company said.
Bed Bath & Beyond said Tritton's "immediate focus" when he takes on the role next month is to accelerate the group's ongoing business transformation. The company unveiled a four-part turnaround plan in July after facing declining sales and increasing investor pressure.
Tritton said there is "immense opportunity" ahead for the housewares retailer.
Bed Bath & Beyond's stock closed down 0.05% to $9.94, but went as high as nearly 20% to $11.88 in after-hours trading. Meanwhile, Target's shares closed up 1.70% to $110.36, but fell 0.78% in after-hours trading to $109.50.
