Bath & Body Works Opens First Feel Good Concept Store in Charlotte

Bath & Body Works opened its first Feel Good concept store in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Friday, with two more locations set to follow this fall in Miami and Columbus, Ohio.

The concept is built around one job: making fragrance discovery easier. Consumer feedback shaped the format, which adds easy navigation, clear ingredient and benefit information, and an enhanced testing experience to what the company calls a "more contemporary expression of the Bath & Body Works brand."

What's inside the store?

The assortment leans on signature fragrances, including Champagne Toast, Warm Vanilla Sugar and Japanese Cherry Blossom. Fruit Fusion, a franchise launched with Hilary Duff in July, joins the lineup too.

The format breaks from the retailer's usual layout in several ways:

• Immersive testing stations, including an Eau de Parfum bar
• A lip-and-blend station for hands-on product play
• Sink stations for demonstrations and product exploration
• A digital Fragrance Finder quiz that matches shoppers to fragrance families based on personal preferences
• Shoppable drawers, with items organized by scent family such as Warm & Woodsy and Fruity & Bright

"The intent behind our Feel Good concept stores was to create an environment that feels warm, authentic and beautiful while making it easier and more enjoyable for consumers to shop," Samantha Day, associate vice president of store design at Bath & Body Works, said in a statement.

What does the store change for the retailer?

The Charlotte location doubles as a learning lab. Chief Commercial Officer Maly Bernstein said the store will help the company better understand how shoppers engage with the brand and will inform how the store experience evolves over time. The concept reflects the retailer's Consumer First Formula, which aims to drive sustainable, long-term growth.

The test arrives while Bath & Body Works is spending on its physical fleet. This summer the company announced it would roll out enhanced experiences to all of its U.S. and Canada stores. CEO Daniel Heaf called 2026 "an investment year" on an August call with analysts.

The financial backdrop explains the urgency. In the company's latest earnings, net sales fell 2.3% year over year to $1.5 billion, while net income rose 84% to $118 million. Direct to consumer posted positive growth in Q2 for the first time since 2021.

"Returning Bath & Body Works to sustainable growth is a multiyear transformation," Heaf said at the time.

The Charlotte store gives the retailer a live test of whether fragrance discovery, rethought as an experience rather than a shelf, can pull shoppers back into physical stores. What it learns there will shape how the Feel Good format, and possibly the wider chain, looks next.