Bath & Body Works Launches First Brand Storefront on Amazon
Bath & Body Works launched an authorized storefront on Amazon.com in its latest effort to sell products outside its stores, reports CNBC. The mall-favorite brand is making some of its best-selling fragrances, bodywashes, hand soaps and candles available for Amazon’s U.S. shoppers. The selection is also eligible for Prime shipping.
The Amazon launch signals Bath & Body Works' ongoing strategy to expand its access points for customers. Last year, it began selling its products in college campus stores — with a footprint of now more than 1,000 locations — in the company’s first points of sale outside its roughly 2,600 owned and franchised stores and its own website. Before the official storefront launch, Bath & Body Works products were sold on Amazon through third-party resellers.
Total Retail's Take: The launch of its Amazon storefront is part of new CEO Daniel Heaf's strategy to return Bath & Body Works to profitable growth. Heaf joined the company in May and recently laid out what he's calling a "consumer-first formula."
Bath & Body Works joins retail brands such as Gap, J.Crew, and Everlane in using Amazon's fulfillment network to fill the role of skilled logistics partner rather than retailer. These brands are viewing the e-commerce giant as another opportunity to reach shoppers rather than a competitive threat. Under its agreement with Amazon, Bath & Body Works will retain ownership of the inventory and control pricing, continuing to sell its products on its own website.
“We know that we will never compete with Amazon in terms of its Prime Network," Heaf noted. "By going on Amazon we're making our own site more competitive but recognizing that our job is not to build a fulfillment network that can operate at the speed of Amazon.”
- Companies:
- Bath & Body Works
- People:
- Daniel Heaf
Kristina Stidham is the digital content director at Total Retail and sister brands Women in Retail Leadership Circle and Women Leading Travel & Hospitality at NAPCO Media. She is passionate about digital media and handles video, podcast and virtual event production for all brands. You can often find her at WIRLC, TR, WLT&H or industry events with her camera and podcasting equipment—or at home on Zoom—recording interviews with thought leaders and business executives.
Kristina holds a B.A. in Media Studies and Production from the Temple University Klein College of Media and Communication in Philadelphia. Go Owls! When she's not in the office, she loves to go on long walks, sing around the house, hangout with her family and two pet guinea pigs, and travel to new places.
