Bath & Body Works, which operates under L Brands has announced that it plans to grow the business. The retailer reported that Q4 new sales fell to $4.7 billion from $4.85 billion in the year-ago period. Going forward, L Brands intends to ramp up the expansion of Bath & Body Works — but with a slightly different real estate approach. It plans to open a net of 70 U.S. stores this year, up from 18 in 2019, with the majority located in strip centers. Currently, about 45% of Bath & Body Works’ stores are not in enclosed shopping malls.
‘The growth in store count in 2020 is expected to be substantially all outside of enclosed shopping malls, said Stuart Burgdoerfer, executive VP and CFO, L Brands, on the company’s earning call. He added that the new stores will be in “power strips with a very strong economic profile.’
