Dive Brief:

• To build out its digital business, Bed Bath & Beyond on Monday appointed Jill Pavlovich to senior vice president of digital commerce and Jake Griffith to vice president of product management, effective Sunday. Both hires will report to Chief Digital Officer Rafeh Masood, the company announced Monday.

• Pavlovich most recently served as Wayfair's general manager and head of exclusive brands and merchandising, according to a company press release. Before that, she held leadership roles at Calvin Klein, Natori, Perry Ellis International, Dana-co and Warnaco.

• Griffith comes to Bed Bath & Beyond from Walmart where he was most recently the general manager of Sports & Fitness. Prior to that, he held numerous positions at Amazon.

Dive Insight:

Like many retailers attempting to grow in e-commerce, Bed Bath & Beyond has turned to industry vets to develop its $3 billion digital business.

As senior vice president of digital commerce, Pavlovich will be tasked with improving the company's online shopping experience, something that's integral in Bed Bath & Beyond's pledge of becoming an "omni-always" retailer. She will help lead the retailer's digital merchandising and operations, including for Bed Bath & Beyond's owned brands. As part of its three-year turnaround plan, Bed Bath & Beyond has emphasized rolling out more private labels, unveiling the first of several earlier this month.

Griffith, as product management vice president, will be responsible for developing new digital capabilities and overseeing product lifestyle stages to ensure customers have a seamless buying experience. 

Masood welcomed the hires' merchandising, brand and digital retail experience as Bed Bath & Beyond continues forward with its transformation efforts and looks to drive sales and gross margin growth.

Digital has become ever important for the retailer as more consumers began shopping online during the pandemic. Bed Bath & Beyond, in its most recent earnings, reported overall company digital sales grew some 77% year over year. At the Bed Bath & Beyond banner specifically, digital sales shot up 94% year over year in the third quarter, with 36% of digital orders being fulfilled from stores.

To support this, the retailer has integrated buy online, pick up in store across its banners, and by last May, 90% of its fleet in the U.S. and Canada offered curbside pickup services.

As it becomes increasingly apparent that at least some of that shift to online is here to stay, Bed Bath & Beyond last October announced it would invest $250 million over the next three years into its tech platforms to support its digital push.