Bed, Bath and Beyond 2013 Annual Report Download - page 4

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 4 of the 2013 Bed, Bath and Beyond annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 80

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64
  • 65
  • 66
  • 67
  • 68
  • 69
  • 70
  • 71
  • 72
  • 73
  • 74
  • 75
  • 76
  • 77
  • 78
  • 79
  • 80

Our Company enjoyed an active, productive and successful fiscal 2013, and we are grateful to be able to share a few highlights
with you.
We placed significant focus on the goals we spoke of when we wrote you last year, investing heavily in the Company’s future
and strengthening our presence in, and utilization of, emerging technologies. Specifically, to enhance our customers’ online
experience, we replaced both the back end and customer facing systems in launching new websites for buybuy Baby and Bed
Bath & Beyond, and we replatformed our mobile sites and apps as well. The resulting improved functionality will provide the
foundation for ongoing improvements to our customers’ omnichannel experience. In addition, we introduced a selling
component to our Christmas Tree Shops website. Internally, we added more depth and experience to our information
technology, analytics, marketing and ecommerce groups to lead our omnichannel initiatives. We mention these items first
because we are excited by and engaged in the evolution of retail. We tell anyone who asks: there has never been a better time
in our Company’s history than right now.
During the past fiscal year we also completed construction on our new information technology data center in North Carolina,
which will enhance our disaster recovery capabilities and support our overall information technology systems. In our stores, we
installed energy efficient lighting, heating and cooling systems and continued our ongoing deployment of new and enhanced
systems and equipment to take advantage of new technologies and processes. We will maintain our focus on making the right
decisions and investments to provide for the future technological needs that will allow our Company to thrive.
As far as our financial results, despite an unusually disruptive weather impact in the fourth quarter, fiscal 2013 was another
year of consistent performance in terms of earnings per share growth and the Company’s overall financial strength. Some of
the financial highlights from fiscal 2013 were as follows:
• Net earnings for the fiscal year (fifty-two weeks) ended March 1, 2014 were $4.79 per diluted share ($1.022 billion)
compared to fiscal 2012 (fifty-three weeks) net earnings per diluted share of $4.56 ($1.038 billion).
• Net sales for fiscal 2013 (fifty-two weeks) were approximately $11.5 billion, an increase of approximately 5% from the prior
year’s net sales (fifty-three weeks) of $10.9 billion.
• Comparable sales for fiscal 2013 increased by approximately 2.4%.
• Capital expenditures for the year were approximately $317 million.
• Approximately $1.3 billion in value was returned to our shareholders through our ongoing common stock repurchase
program, bringing our cumulative return to shareholders to over $6.0 billion since the start of our common stock repurchase
programs in 2004.
• Over $1 billion in free cash flow was generated.
• Our return on average equity was 25.5%.
During fiscal 2013 we opened 33 new stores consisting of 13 Bed Bath & Beyond stores throughout the United States and
Canada, 4 stores under the names Christmas Tree Shops andThat! or andThat!, 8 buybuy Baby stores, 3 Harmon Face Values
stores and 5 Cost Plus World Market stores. We added additional Harmon Face Values, Fine Tabletop and Giftware, Baby and
Specialty Food and Beverage departments in existing stores as well. In connection with our program of renovating or
repositioning stores within certain trade areas to optimize our operations, we also closed 8 stores during the year. At fiscal
year end, we operated 1,496 stores, consisting of 1,014 Bed Bath & Beyond stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia,
Puerto Rico and Canada, 265 stores under the names World Market, Cost Plus World Market or Cost Plus, 90 buybuy Baby
stores, 77 stores under the names Christmas Tree Shops, Christmas Tree Shops andThat!, or andThat!, and 50 stores under the
names Harmon or Harmon Face Values. In addition, our joint venture in Mexico operated four Bed Bath & Beyond stores at the
end of our Company’s fiscal year.
To Our Fellow Shareholders:
BED BATH & BEYOND 2013 ANNUAL REPORT
2