MAJOR retailer Bath & Body Works is making three new changes to their brand, impacting millions of customers.
Bath & Body Works made announcements beyond revealing their fall collection in August and September, teasing policy changes and location expansions affecting shoppers and college students.
The expansion comes as part of the company’s strategy to strengthen brand loyalty with Gen Z[/caption]
The bathroom retailer announced in August an expansion of their stores launching in over 600 college campuses across the nation.
The expansion comes as part of the company’s strategy to strengthen brand loyalty with Gen Z.
“It was important for Bath & Body Works to expand into college campuses as it allows us to reach our Gen Z customers where they are and when they need us most,” Bath & Body Works Chief Merchandising Officer Betsy Schumacher said.
“By providing an easy and convenient way to shop the fragrances they know from a brand they love, we hope we can make their dorm rooms feel more like home,” Schumacher continued.
Stores will pop up in college campuses selling scents popular among the younger crowd, including Warm Vanilla Sugar, Champagne Toast, Platinum and Mahogany Teakwood.
Products including body care, hand soaps, sanitizers, wallflower diffusers, lip care and candles will be sold.
WORKER WINDFALL
Ahead of the busy holiday season, Bath & Body Works announced over 30,000 seasonal associates will be hired ahead of the surge in customers.
The company plans to hire over 2,000 full-time employees at its five distribution centers in Ohio.
There are also plans to hire part-time retail associates across the company’s nearly 1,900 stores in North America.
“This seasonal expansion is designed to ensure stores and logistics teams are fully staffed to support increased consumer demand and deliver exceptional customer experiences,” the company said in a statement.
Bath & Body Works entices people to apply by revealing the range of benefits offered for seasonal employees, including a 40% discount at stores.
Seasonal employees also have the chance to move up in the ranks at Bath & Body Works.
The retailer said many seasonal associates end up in permanent positions, including leadership roles across their supply chain operations, home office, field teams and distribution centers.
PACKAGE SHAKEUP
Lastly, Bath & Body Works opted to change up the packaging of its Wallflower bulbs after the company realized the design hadn’t changed in years.
The company took on a more environmentally-friendly approach, optimizing packaging to increase the number of bulbs shipped in cases containing the product from 24 to 36. Thus reducing the number of boxes required to ship merchandise to stores.
The team also replaced the single-use plastic used in packing the Wallflower heaters with paperboard.
Paperboard is an eco-friendly packaging option that has advantages beyond sustainability, according to Packaging Digest.
Companies can print on paperboard, providing high-quality graphics without compromising its recyclability.
While paperboard can be heavier than plastic, it can be delivered flat, helping reduce transportation space, per Packaging Digest.
Changes were also made to Bath & Body Work’s two-pack of Wallflower bulbs. The outer plastic carton was swapped out for paperboard that includes 30% post-consumer recycled content.
While working to optimize packaging, the team realized there was excess space in the Wallflower single bulb packages.
The team then reconfigured the case to use even less paperboard.
“Working on a project like this feels like solving a complex puzzle where every piece fits perfectly,” Justin Browne, a senior packaging engineer said. “The satisfaction comes from knowing that our resources are used more effectively.”
With the team’s success in environmentally efficient repackaging, the company is looking to reduce packaging sizes and shift away from single-use with other products.
