Image courtesy of Bath & Body Works
Bath & Body Works is making a play into something of a new market, packing its proverbial bags and heading to a college campus near you.
According to an August 6 press release shared by the retailer, Bath & Body Works will be selling its product lineup — from soaps and fragrances to candles and lotions — in more than 600 campus stores across the United States, just in time for the highly anticipated back-to-school season. Per Reuters, participating schools include George Washington University, Boston College, and Vanderbilt University, among others.
“It was important for Bath & Body Works to expand into college campuses as it allows us to reach our Gen Z customers where they are and when they need us most,” says Betsy Schumacher, chief merchandising officer for Bath & Body Works.
“By providing an easy and convenient way to shop the fragrances they know from a brand they love, we hope we can make their dorm rooms feel more like home,” she added.
The move is supported by bookstore operators such as Barnes & Noble and Follett Corp., as well as ICM Distributing Company Inc.
Continued Focus on Gen Z Seen as Key to Bath & Body Works' Future Success Story
In remarks shared by Reuters, Bath & Body Works CEO Daniel Heaf indicated that generating interest — and sales — among Gen Z consumers was top-of-mind. Heaf, who took over helming the company earlier this year in May, has been focused on righting the ship following a difficult year for the retailer, as the company was removed from the S&P 500 index.
A couple of interesting statistics appear to make this pitch worthwhile for Bath & Body Works: First, the brand scored very highly on three key metrics via an April 2025 Piper Sandler "Taking Stock with Teens" survey — placing first in the fragrance brand category among all American teens, and also taking down third place as a beauty destination for in-store shopping and fifth for loyalty programs (per teen girls surveyed).
Second, the same survey found that, among the teen demographic, fragrance sales had surged by 22% against the year prior, making that first-place designation even more valuable.
Speaking to the matter of Gen Z's centrality to this latest plan, Heaf said that the move into campuses represents "a way to keep the conversation going with teen girls while they're... not living with their parents anymore, not going to their usual places anymore."
The Importance of Third-Party Distribution, and the Potential 'End' of an Either / Or Proposition
And with Heaf having direct experience with company shifts toward DTC sales, having run Nike's business operations on that score prior to joining Bath & Body Works, he pointedly suggested moving away from a move which appears to have backfired for his previous employer.
"This idea of being either a wholesale brand or a direct-to-consumer brand is over," Heaf told Reuters, continuing to add that he believed third-party distribution to be more central to future growth.