Bed Bath & Beyond Hires Two Executives
Bed Bath & Beyond has appointed two regional vice presidents, the latest move from the retailer as it strives to become better at omnichannel commerce.
Mary-Farrell Tarbox is the retailer’s new regional vice president for the Central region, while Ann-Marie Clendenin takes on the same job overseeing the East region. Both will report directly to Executive Vice President and Chief Stores Officer Gregg Melnick to round out Bed Bath & Beyond's store leadership team.
Tarbox will be responsible for more than 350 of Bed Bath & Beyond's retail stores across 22 states, while Clendenin will oversee approximately 200 stores across 12 states.
The retailer said that Tarbox and Clendenin will be integral to the implementation of the company’s store optimization plans, helping accelerate the “omni-always” transformation underway as Bed Bath & Beyond tries to rapidly evolve the shopping experience for customers across channels.
Both of the executives will work with Melnick and his team to execute a cultural shift in the way Bed Bath & Beyond manages store operations and teams, to encourage greater centralization, agility and a more customer-inspired response as the company makes significant investments in stores in the coming years, the retailer said.
“We're rapidly changing the way we serve our digital-first customers, using our stores as a strategic asset to deliver an omni-always experience,” Melnick said. “Mary-Farrell has an extraordinary track record driving transformation at industry-leading retailers, and her deep expertise in human resources and store operations will allow us to increase the pace of change in our business. At the same time, Ann-Marie brings a wealth of global omnichannel retail experience that will allow us to accelerate the implementation of new technologies and processes to serve our customers even better in future.”
Prior to joining Bed Bath & Beyond, Tarbox held multiple roles at Crate & Barrel Holdings, including as vice president for stores. Most recently, Tarbox was senior vice president for human resources, where she was responsible for transforming HR to support and drive results by attracting, developing and retaining best-in-class talent. Prior to Crate & Barrel, she held senior store operations roles at PetSmart and Target.
Clendenin joins Bed Bath & Beyond after serving as U.S. retail president for Aritzia, prior to which she spent more than eight years at the Kate Spade organization as vice president for global omnichannel operations. Before this, she held senior roles at Aeropostale, including as director of field operations. Clendenin also worked at Bed Bath & Beyond as general manager from 2002 to 2003.
