Bath & Body Works to sell on college campuses in Gen Z push

As college students head to their campus bookstores this fall to shop for sweatshirts and snacks, they’ll also be greeted by a display of scents from Bath & Body Works.

The fragrance and body care retailer is launching at 600 college campuses, its first large-scale distribution expansion beyond its own stores. It’ll sell body and lip care, hand soap, hand sanitizers, candles, wallflower diffusers and bulbs in their own branded displays within the stores at schools like George Washington University, Georgia State University, University of Florida, Boston College, and Vanderbilt University.

The move “allows us to reach our Gen Z customers where they are and when they need us most,” its chief merchandising officer, Betsy Schumacher, said in a statement.

Scents that’ll be sold include Champagne Toast, Mahogany Teakwood, and Warm Vanilla Sugar, along with selections from Everyday Luxuries, its “prestige-inspired” fragrance line that’s helped the retailer gain favor with Gen Z, which it says is a “key demographic.” In Piper Sandler’s semi-annual Taking Stock With Teens survey, Bath & Body Works entered the top 10 of female teens’ favorite beauty destinations for the first time in six years, usurping Target, and was ranked female teens’ No. 1 fragrance choice.

Bath & Body Works named former Nike executive Daniel Heaf as its new CEO in May, taking over for Gina Boswell. On his first earnings call in May, Heaf said he saw an opportunity for the retailer to grow by attracting younger consumers and men, and aimed to explore “new forms of distribution beyond our own channels strategically and thoughtfully” to bring in new shoppers. The company also considered Gen Z preferences for its new Gingham+ store design rolled out earlier this year, incorporating more areas to test products and using a neutral color palette.

No mall wonder: Bath & Body Works’s success with teens comes as another teen and tween mall staple, Claire’s, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time after first filing in 2018. The company said in the filing that growing competition, lower foot traffic, and the impact of tariffs and inflation, contributed to its struggles. Claire’s, too, has tried to attract new audiences through scents, launching a Gen Z and Gen Alpha-targeted fragrance and body care line last year.