Amy Sullivan is attempting to pull off one of the most difficult magic acts in the history of retailing. If she succeeds, it will be a remarkable transformation.

Sullivan is the CEO of The Brand House Collective, the company formerly known as Kirkland’s. It has operated about 300 home decor, gift and accessory stores, primarily across the Southern portion of the country, often rising and falling on the overall condition of the home industry. Most recently, its fortunes have been more falling than rising, and that’s why earlier this year, it partnered up with the company then known as Beyond Inc. (now Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.) to convert its own physical locations into Bed Bath & Beyond Home outposts through a licensing agreement.

The first of these rebranded locations opened last month just outside of Nashville, and five more are slated to open in November. Plans are for most of the former Kirkland’s stores to get the BBB treatment over the next 24 months.

It’s an ambitious plan, one that some might call outlandish given the scale and speed involved. Sullivan is a retail lifer who lists Kohl’s, JCPenney and Express on a resumé that was largely in the fashion realm until she joined Kirkland’s 13 years ago, becoming CEO in 2024. She sees this strategy as crucial for the success of the company, and for the return of a retail nameplate consumers still hold dear to their shopping hearts.

“People love that brand, and they want it back,” Sullivan tells Business of Home. At about 5,000 square feet, the debut location is a fraction of the size of its namesake predecessor, and with limited time to get its merchandising assortment, it relies heavily on the home decor–centric mix of Kirkland’s, which accounts for 40 percent of what’s for sale.

While the Nashville Bed Bath & Beyond Home is lighter on the housewares hard goods side, Sullivan said it tries “to stay true to the best of the core categories” elsewhere, with a mix of national and private-label brands.

Eventually, she says that combination will go to 75 percent BBB traditional categories, with the balance being Kirkland’s-branded decor. “We’re going to iterate and iterate and iterate, and there’s still an upside for us to get more into national brands.” The next five stores will also be in the Nashville area (close to Brand House headquarters), in varying sizes, with some as large as 12,000 square feet as it tests various merchandising footprints.

There are about 300 Kirkland’s stores now, and Sullivan says she and Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. executive chairman Marcus Lemonis plan to convert most if not all of them to BBB nameplates (including BuyBuy Baby and Overstock). The Kirkland’s Home name will live on as a brand within these stores as it is phased out of freestanding locations.

The first BuyBuy Baby store could come to the Nashville market as early as next year, and will likely be in the 15,000-square-foot range. Overstock, which could also see its first store next year, may eventually have 15 to 20 locations, starting in California. Sullivan sees these stores handling returns and excess inventory for all of the company’s brands.

If the plan sounds very aggressive given the magnitude of the task, not to mention the state of the home furnishings business right now, that’s because it is. Sullivan and the ever-exuberant Lemonis—who made his claim to fame as host of a TV reality show and is never short of positivity—have a formidable challenge. Wall Street is taking a wait-and-see attitude, especially as Brand House’s financial numbers remain on the negative side of the scale. Still, Sullivan is undaunted about the road ahead. Pointing to the endless supply of old BBB coupons that have been turned in so far and the crowds of people waiting to get into the first store ahead of its grand opening, she is as positive as Lemonis: “This brand is alive and well.”

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Warren Shoulberg is the former editor in chief for several leading B2B publications. He has been a guest lecturer at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business; received honors from the International Furnishings and Design Association and the Fashion Institute of Technology; and been cited by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN and other media as a leading industry expert. His Retail Watch columns offer deep industry insights on major markets and product categories.