Bath & Body Works $BBWI announced a partnership with Ulta $ULTA Beauty to sell its products in more than 600 Ulta stores across the U.S. and online, beginning July 12.
Shoppers at Ulta will find a range of Bath & Body Works items on shelves, from hand soap and body cream to three-wick candles, fine fragrance mist, and Wallflowers plug-in air fresheners, according to WWD. Several items will be available at Ulta on an exclusive basis: a White Barn Neutrals candle collection, a Mini Fine Fragrance Mist Set, and two products featuring Juniper Breeze, a returning scent from the brand's past, in mist and body cream form.
Bath & Body Works CEO Daniel Heaf drew a distinction between what the two retail relationships offer the brand. "Amazon $AMZN is about convenience," Heaf said. "Ulta Beauty is about discovery, trial, and the physical experience. It gives the consumers a chance to see the brand, smell the fragrances and interact with the assortment."
From Ulta's perspective, the arrangement addresses a category gap the retailer has been looking to fill. "We see a meaningful whitespace opportunity to better serve guests across high-quality home fragrance, hand soaps, lotions and body care, categories that beautifully complement our assortment," said Lauren Brindley, Ulta Beauty's chief merchandising and digital officer. There is no set end date for the partnership, Heaf said.
Bath & Body Works Chief Commercial Officer Maly Bernstein said the Ulta arrangement targets a consumer the brand does not yet fully reach. "It gives us a chance to go after a new consumer and a highly engaged beauty and fragrance enthusiast," Bernstein said. Bernstein also framed each distribution deal as a complement to Bath & Body Works' own stores, saying the goal is for every channel partner to align with how customers already seek out specialty, fragrance, beauty, and self-care products.
The Ulta deal is part of Bath & Body Works' broader push to expand its retail distribution. The company began selling its products on Amazon earlier this year as part of an effort to reach new consumers. The company has also expanded to college bookstores in the U.S. Bernstein said the company plans to pause after these moves and monitor their progress before announcing additional distribution deals.
Bath & Body Works sells its three-wick candles for $25. For comparison, candles already sold at Ulta range from $20 for the retailer's own private-label line to $65 for NEST New York.