Retailers and restaurants have a questionable history when it comes to name changes. Some are just dumb, like when Radio Shack and Pizza Hut wanted to be known as “The Shack” and “The Hut,” respectively.
Those efforts felt like a kid at school who came back from summer camp and told people he now goes by “Spike” or “Animal.” Sorry, Michael, we just don’t see you as an “Animal” or even a “Spike.”
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In some cases, brands make a switch to obscure their terrible business.
Fried chicken is bad for you, so call us KFC, not Kentucky Fried Chicken. WeightWatchers is dated and sexist, so how about WW?
Name changes often seem like bad ideas from a marketing department nobody stood up to.
Does anyone call Facebook “Meta”? Is “Alphabet” a better name than Google?
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Why not take our well-known brand and hide it behind an obscure name nobody knows? Prince at least had a reason (a record-contract dispute with his label) for changing his name to an unpronounceable symbol.
Kirkland's does not have a similar excuse, and its new name might be the worst of the bunch.
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Kirkland's has an identity crisis
When Bed Bath & Beyond went out of business, its name, website, retail store rights, and other intellectual property (IP) were sold to Overstock.com. That company — which had struggled with its name once it moved past just being a brand that sold overstocked items — adopted the Bed Bath & Beyond name, sort of.
It took on the name “Beyond,” which is a bit like if Beyonce had opted to go by Knowles, instead of her iconic first name. Bed Bath & Beyond was a name that told you the company sold bedroom products, bathroom items, and more.
That included largely coffeemakers and, for some reason, leftover candy, but the “beyond” part was vague enough to encompass it. Adopting the vague part as your full name, even if you're replacing a name that no longer works, like Overstock.com, made little sense, however.
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So, of course, the company ended up acquiring (more or less) the Kirkland's retail brand. Never mind that Costco's Kirkland Signature will always own the mindspace for Kirkland; it might be a better name than Beyond, so the company adopted that moniker.
But since there can never be too many bad decisions when it comes to naming a company, Kirkland's has adopted a new name, The Brand House Collective, Inc.
Kirkland's has a new name
Why have just one bad name when you can have a bunch of them?
Kirkland's, Inc. plans to rebrand and change its corporate name from Kirkland's Inc. to The Brand House Collective, Inc. reflecting the company's transformation into a multi-brand merchandising, supply chain, and retail operator. The new company will operate some locations under the Kirkland's name and other brick-and-mortar stores under the Bed Bath & Beyond, Overstock, and buybuy Baby names.
CEO Amy Sullivan tries to explain the name change in a way that makes perfect sense to marketing teams, while not in any way speaking to customers.
“From the moment our partnership with Beyond began, it was clear that our model needed to evolve. The Brand House Collective is more than a new name – it's a bold declaration of where we're headed. We're aligning our identity with our vision to become a multi-brand merchandising, supply chain, and retail operator,” she shared.
The company also plans to reduce excess inventory and close underperforming locations, optimizing real estate assets and enhancing talent across the organization.
“We are building a leaner, flatter, and performance-led organization – driven by transformation, anchored in accountability, and powered by new ideas that we believe will deliver results,” she added.
In plain language, that means there are plans to close stores.
“Following the consolidation, we expect to move forward with approximately 290 of our current store locations as the foundational footprint for Kirkland's Home, Bed Bath & Beyond Home, and Overstock,” the company shared,
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That means that just under 30 locations will be closing.
The new Brand House Collective does plan to open new stores under each of its many retail brand names.
