File this one under: kind of bizarre.
Home goods retailer Bed Bath & Beyond said it plans to offer mortgages soon, alongside its traditional offerings like bed linens and towels.
It’s part of their strategy of becoming the “Everything Home Company.”
In other words, they’ll be able to help you both furnish and finance a home.
Sounds a little weird, but not unlike what some other companies are attempting at the moment.
Bed Bath & Beyond Wants to Be the ‘Everything Home Company’
It seems Bed Bath & Beyond is no longer satisfied with simply furnishing your home.
They want more, just all the other fintech and real estate companies out there looking to acquire companies and vertically integrate.
Instead of getting a slice of the home buyer journey, they want every piece of it.
Here’s a parallel, albeit a stretch. Rocket Mortgage acquired real estate brokerage Redfin and loan servicer Mr. Cooper to create a “flywheel.”
The idea is to be with you every step of the way, whether it’s finding a property, financing the home, or managing payments over the life of the loan.
They’ll also be there to offer you refinance opportunities if rates drop, or home equity products once you build some equity and need cash.
It all hinges on recapture, where it’s easier to generate more leads internally as opposed to going out and looking for new ones.
Simply put, getting repeat business from existing customers.
Apparently Bed Bath & Beyond has similar plans, and instead of simply selling you throw pillows and candles, they want to sell you a mortgage too!
And not just a mortgage, but HELOCs, home renovation loans, and title insurance services.
Oh and renters insurance, homeowners insurance, and home warranties too!
Basically a one-stop shop for all your household needs, including the financing piece.
Bed Bath & Beyond Plans to Acquire or Develop a Residential Brokerage Network
To make this all happen, Bed Bath & Beyond is planning to acquire or launch a so-called residential brokerage network.
Basically a conglomerate that offers real estate, mortgage, insurance, title, and other services all under one roof or brand.
That relies upon real estate agents to drum up leads for each part of the business.
It’s akin to Zillow using its real estate agent lead service to send potential leads to its Zillow Home Loans in-house lender.
In a shareholder letter, CEO Marcus Lemonis said, “We are pursuing the acquisition or development of a scaled residential brokerage network of tens of thousands of agents to generate origination and act as a consultative sales force across the ecosystem.”
But wait, there’s more. They also plan to advance their “trust-based credit union partnership model” that will include competitive rates on checking, savings, mortgages and HELOCs.
And will also partner with Figure Technologies to “deliver innovative digital home equity and financing products to its customers.”
Wait, still more. They’re also going to get into home services, including offering installable products like flooring, cabinetry, and closet systems.
So it sounds like they’ve got some serious plans to offer just about everything under the sun.
It just appears to be a lot for a company that sells home furnishings and operates brands like buybuy BABY and Overstock.
But I digress.
Somewhat similar to Redfins and Zillows of the world, they believe they can create a “connected home ecosystem that increases retention, improves revenue quality and expands lifetime value.”
I for one look forward to hearing more. And I really hope you can use a 20% coupon for your next mortgage!
(photo: JJBers)
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