Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (Nasdaq: BBBY) today announced the appointment of Wade E. Haddad as Senior Vice President (SVP), Real Estate and Construction, effective today. Mr. Haddad joins with over 25 years of real estate experience and will lead the Company’s recently announced store optimization strategy, a key part of its previously disclosed comprehensive restructuring plan.
In this new role Haddad will be a central part of the team overseeing the comprehensive modernization of the Company’s operations, unlocking value from the property portfolio while establishing the optimal network to support new omnichannel services such as Buy-Online-Pickup-In-Store (BOPIS), Curbside Pickup, and same day delivery. Haddad will report to John Hartmann, Chief Operating Officer (COO) and President of buybuy BABY, and will lead an enterprise-wide team to optimize the Company’s approximately 50 million square foot real estate portfolio including the store fleet across all banners, as well as its offices, distribution and fulfilment centers.
COO John Hartmann said, “We have taken a number of important steps to unlock value from our real estate portfolio, while better harnessing our stores to deliver for customers through new services such as BOPIS and Curbside Pickup. Our store optimization and real estate strategy will allow us to serve our customers even better in the future, and support our efforts to build a sustainable, durable business model. Wade has decades of experience in multi-brand portfolio management for leading retailers, with a proven track record driving efficiency and creating value. His vision and expertise will help accelerate our plans to enhance the omni-always shopping experience for our customers.”
Prior to joining Bed Bath & Beyond, Mr. Haddad held several roles at Ascena Retail Group, a multi-brand retail corporation with a portfolio of several thousand stores. Most recently, Haddad was SVP, Real Estate & Store Development, where he operationalized an industry-leading real estate and store development function across all eight brands under Ascena. Prior to that, he held senior roles at Ann Inc, Klinger Advanced Aesthetics, Bieri Company, and The Taubman Company, a leading owner and manager of regional shopping centers.
Haddad said, “Bed Bath & Beyond is one of the most iconic brands in the retail space, with an exciting growth strategy to rebuild its authority in the Home, Baby, Health and Wellness markets. I’m excited to join the Company at such a key moment in its history, to harness its real estate portfolio and optimize its store footprint in ways that support the Company’s vision, accelerate its plans to grow and better serve its millions of loyal customers.”
