(Reuters) -Bed Bath & Beyond Inc Chief Executive Mark Tritton has stepped down as part of a management shake-up, which the home goods retailer said on Wednesday was needed to reverse several quarters of weak sales.

Shares fell 9% after the company reported a 23% slide in quarterly comparable sales. It named independent director Sue Gove in place of Tritton on an interim basis and also replaced its chief merchandising officer.

The company had in March reached an agreement with activist investor and billionaire Ryan Cohen, appointing three new directors, two of them to the committee exploring options for the baby products chain.

Cohen, who is also chairman of GameStop, had earlier said that Tritton was paid far more than what top bosses earned at far bigger retailers.

(Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)