Bath & Body Works is opening its 500th international store in London on Friday.
The store, located in Westfield Stratford City shopping mall, will be its seventh in the U.K., in conjunction with its partner Next, the British retailer. It’s the second store in the British capital; the first opened in April.
“The U.K. is a market with tremendous opportunity,” said Gina Boswell, chief executive officer of Bath & Body Works, in an interview. “The fragrance market alone has experienced such a huge surge in demand. That’s just the growing desire for unique and personalized scents and our DNA is about that.”
The company will continue to expand in the U.K., targeting well-known shopping districts like Oxford Street in London and Bullring in Birmingham.
“Our plans include going from large malls to shop-in-shop concepts,” added Boswell.
The brand now has retail locations across six continents and 40 countries, operating a franchise model internationally. That includes recently opening in South Korea.
“Our goal is to bring in new customers by creating this consistent brand experience,” explained Boswell. “It doesn’t really matter whether you’re in Boston or Buenos Aires, because customers across the globe are seeking products and experiences that Bath & Body Works is known for. For example, every time I go to New York City, I often see a bunch of tourists who are literally bringing back these fragrances to their homes. We know there’s just a great deal of demand for the Bath & Body Works fragrance portfolio.”
International retail sales grew double digits in the second quarter in the areas not affected by the war in the Middle East.
“For the systemwide retail sales to be growing double digits, it is a testament to our international strategy,” said Boswell, adding the international strategy has not changed much since she joined the company at the end of 2022, apart from its pace. “Earlier in the year, we thought we would open up to 35 stores outside the U.S. and Canada, and the plan now is to open 50 net new stores by the end of the year.”
Overall, the company reported net sales of $1.53 billion for the quarter ended Aug. 3, a decrease of 2.1 percent from a year earlier. Analysts had estimated $1.54 billion.
For fiscal 2024, the company updated its guidance and now expects net sales to range between a decline of 4 percent to a decline of 2 percent, compared with its previous forecast of a 2.5 percent drop to flat.
