During the pandemic-era “meme stock” craze, when billionaire Ryan Cohen spoke, an army of faithful retail investors listened – even when Cohen used emojis instead of words.
In 2022, Cohen took a big equity stake in the tottering home goods giant Bed Bath & Beyond, prodding the company to install three allies as board members and publicly floating his ideas for revitalizing the business. Cohen’s hundreds of thousands of social media followers took note, turning Bed Bath & Beyond into a hot topic on social media forums for investors.
On August 12, 2022, Cohen posted a tweet responding to a CNBC story predicting that Bed Bath & Beyond’s share price would drop to $1. The CNBC story was accompanied by a photo of a woman shopping at a Bed Bath store. Cohen reposted the CNBC story with a quip — “at least her cart is full” – and an emoji of a smiling moon.
Source: Reuters
Omni Talk is the retail blog for retailers, written by retailers. Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga founded Omni Talk in 2017 and have quickly turned it into one of the fastest growing blogs in retail. 