On Wednesday, Bath & Body Works reported its second quarter 2026 results, with net sales down 2.3% to $1.5 billion. The Ohio-based body-care and fragrance brand considered the results a positive indication that its “Consumer First Formula” turnaround plan is headed in the right direction.
“While the underlying business remains pressured and our performance is not yet where we want it to be, we are where we expect it to be,” said CEO Daniel Heaf. “We have been clear since introducing the Consumer First Formula nine months ago that returning Bath & Body Works to sustainable growth is a multi-year transformation.”
Part of Heaf’s strategy to return to that growth has been to expand the brand’s distribution into new channels. The brand launched a curated selection on Amazon in February and at Ulta Beauty stores in July as part of its effort to meet consumers where they are. According to Heaf, sales on Amazon “tripled” during Q2 compared to Q1.
“The channel is attracting a higher mix of new-to-brand consumers who skew younger and more affluent while delivering a higher AUR than our own channels, reinforcing our confidence that Amazon can expand our reach and drive incremental growth,” said Heaf.
While the Ulta partnership is still in its early days, Heaf said consumers have shown strong reactions to trial sizes as a discovery format. He maintained that Amazon and Ulta are not “cannibalizing” sales from Bath & Body Works’ own stores. During Q2, the company opened 24 stores primarily in off-mall locations and closed 10 primarily mall stores; its international partners also opened 17 stores.
“At the end of the day, we’re not expanding our distribution to just add more doors. We’re really going after new consumers, and each partnership has a distinctive strategic need. Amazon is about convenience, and Ulta is about trial and discovery within a specialty beauty environment,” said Heaf. “If you want the full Bath & Body Works experience, you want all of our seasonal products, you want our collabs, our own channels are still the places to go and get that.”
New product formats are also part of the company’s turnaround plan. In July, Bath & Body Works launched its Fruit Fusion body-care franchise with a campaign fronted by Hilary Duff, its first major celebrity ambassador. Heaf said the company will use the line, which was launched with support from social creators and on Amazon, as a playbook for future launch strategies. It plans to add two new scents to the line in Q3.
“The other important point about Fruit Fusion, which is a big learning and I think a return to what Bath & Body Works does so well, is franchise management,” said Heaf. “Fruit Fusion isn’t in this door and out the next. We are really getting back to that disciplined franchise management that the business was known for.”
The company also plans to expand its Everyday Luxuries franchise, which includes dupes of popular designer and luxury scents, in the second half of the year with new scents and “higher fragrance loads” in keeping with the demand for more concentrated scents. While it will continue to build its candle business, including the launch of its more elevated Reserve Collection on Monday, Heaf said Bath & Body Works will shutter its home category, which includes laundry and kitchen products.
“The [home] category represents less than 1% of our annual sales and creates disproportionate product and operating complexity, without generating the productivity or incremental demand required to justify the cost,” said Heaf.
