Overstock.com shares spike after company announces website rebrand

shares Overstock.com Shares soared nearly 20% on Thursday, a day after the e-commerce home goods retailer announced it was renaming its website to Bed Bath & Beyond after it acquired the intellectual and digital assets of the defunct retailer through a bankruptcy auction.

The stock closed above $30 a share, giving Overstock a market valuation of about $1.3 billion.

Overstock Chief Executive Jonathan Johnson said the Overstock name reflected the company’s previous liquidation-based model and didn’t match the type of products it now sells.

“We started out as a liquidator over 20 years ago and became a department store. Now we are a homewares and furniture company and the name Overstock created a lot of resistance and customers were confused about who we were. Johnson told CNBC’s “The Exchange,” “What we’re selling and what we’re selling is facing headwinds from suppliers who aren’t necessarily willing to sell if it’s related to a liquidation. “

Despite mismanagement and eventual bankruptcy, Bed Bath & Beyond maintained a strong brand name, Johnson said.

The brands already share overlapping customers, which should help ease the transition, Johnson said.

“We’re going to make this transition slowly, Overstock customers will go to the new website and recognize it, but so will Bed Bath & Beyond customers. And then over time, we’ll gradually remove the Overstock feel,” he added .

Consumers can expect Bed Bath & Beyond’s famous coupons to continue, at least during the transition period, Johnson said, but he noted on a conference call with analysts earlier Thursday that the company doesn’t have a long-term view. A discount of that much or that much would be offered.

“One of the things that Bed Bath & Beyond customers will realize is that our non-coupon prices are very good. I think people will be very surprised by what Overstock and now Bed Bath & Beyond can and has offered,” he said .

The new Bed Bath & Beyond website will relaunch in Canada within the next week, with a website, mobile app and loyalty program expected in the United States in the coming weeks.

Overstock shares have risen nearly 60% so far this year.