Dive Brief:
- Bath & Body Works’ Q4 net sales came in above guidance at $2.7 billion, down 2.3% year over year, according to a Wednesday press release. Net income was $403 million, down 11% compared to the year-ago quarter.
- Full year 2026 guidance anticipates net sales down 2.5% to 4.5%, as the company balances “rigorous cost control with targeted reinvestment,” CFO Eva Boratto said on an earnings call with analysts.
- “We are making progress, but transformations of this scale take time,” CEO Daniel Heaf said in a statement.
Dive Insight:
Bath & Body Works is ready to be a global leader.
To accomplish this, it is relying on its Consumer First Formula, a strategy first introduced in Q3, to drive sustainable growth.
“This transformation is repositioning us from a specialty retailer to a premier global brand,” Heaf said. The retailer expects that the full financial impact of its strategy will build throughout 2026 and continue into 2027.
Bath & Body Works made a number of moves in its latest quarter to push in that direction, including launching its official storefront on Amazon as a way to reach new and lapsed consumers. The debut introduced its updated visual identity, which emphasizes ingredient transparency and product quality. It will roll out across its own channels later this year, according to Heaf.
The brand’s international business in Q4 was up 8.3%, and the company is accelerating the pace of store openings across existing and new markets.
The retailer also had some misses during the quarter. The body care category declined mid-single-digits, driven by an underperformance in its seasonal collection, particularly with its “Holiday Traditions” line, which “did not resonate for the first time in several years,” according to Boratto.
“Consumer research shows our body care offerings have become too predictable and that we need to be more disruptive, modern, benefit-led,” Boratto said.
The company is responding by prioritizing investments behind its core products and hero categories that drive repeat purchases.
Bath & Body Works also has a plan to use influencers to create a more visible and consistent presence across social media.
“This is really what I mean by moving from being a specialty retailer to being a global brand,” Heaf said. “We expect to see a roughly tenfold increase in how we leverage content creation so we can show up in social media in a way that is modern and relevant.”
The primary metric that the company wants to track is the number of posts from influencers, who will post content about the Bath & Body Works brand in their own voice.
“Our expectations for our business and our brand are high and this work will take time, but we are confident that we have the platform, the plan and the team to win,” Heaf said.
