On Tuesday Nov. 15, the SMIF class had the pleasure of hearing some remarks from Susan Lattman, the CFO of Bed, Bath, & Beyond (BBBY). Lattman has been with BBBY for 20 years, having served in a variety of other positions before assuming the role of CFO & Treasurer in 2014. Before starting with BBBY in 1996 she worked as an audit manager at Arthur Andersen. Susan graduated from Bucknell in 1990.
She offered some key insights into the challenges facing the retail industry today – primarily due to increased competition online. With slumping sales in brick and mortar stores, she highlighted the need for retailers to offer additional value-added differentiators in stores; for BBBY this includes baby registry specialists, interior decorating experts, and heightened customer support. She also touched on BBBY’s use of big data to give targeted advertisement to its customers.
Susan took some time to give valuable life advice as well – her key takeaway being “be opportunistic.” She remarked how she would not have gotten her first job at BBBY had she not picked up the phone and called herself.
We thank Susan for taking the time to come in and speak with the class!