The retail outdoor cooking space is about to get more crowded. Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) announced in their Q4 2022 earnings call that with their recent addition of outdoor furniture company Yardbird, they are going to accelerate their plans of moving into the over $30 billion outdoor living industry (of which outdoor cooking is $6.1 billion). With new partnerships with brands like Traeger and Weber, they are going to create a comprehensive solution for their customers. It was almost mentioned later in the call that key enhancements to some of their stores include dedicated showcase spaces for outdoor living.
The full quote from Chief Merchandising Officer, Jason J. Bonfig, is below:
“The last category I’d like to highlight is outdoor living. This is over a $30 billion industry, and our acquisition of Yardbird, a leading premium outdoor furniture company, provides the ability for us to accelerate this business across a nationwide network. That acquisition, combined with our strength in outdoor television and audio and new partnerships with leading brands like Traeger, Weber and Bromic, create a comprehensive solution for our customers. When we couple that assortment with our home consultants and the physical and digital experiences that we’ve developed for customers, this is a really, really fast-moving category that has the ability to grow. You’ll start to see Yardbird products as fast as this spring in Southern California market, and we’re very excited about that.”
We’ll see if they’ll have the demand and floor space to include the new Traeger Timberline pellet grill or the popular Weber Traveler portable gas grill.