Insight: BBWI to Enter ULTA; Competition & Store Overlap Temper Upside

Research evidence excerpt

Insight: BBWI to Enter ULTA; Competition & Store Overlap Temper Upside

competition and cannibalization risk. 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

.

Source: Jefferies, Safegraph

Store Overlap May Pressure Cross-Channel Productivity: Elevated store overlap introduces a key

structural constraint. BBWI is actively shifting toward an off-mall fleet (targeting ~75% vs. ~60%

today), with ~63% of locations already within one mile of an ULTA. As BBWI continues to reposition,

overlap is likely to increase, raising the risk of cross-channel cannibalization (e.g., traffic shifting

from owned stores to ULTA, or muted incremental productivity at ULTA given existing BBWI brand

awareness). As a result, while the partnership broadens BBWI’s discovery funnel, we anticipate

much of the impact to be channel shift rather than true customer acquisition.

BBWI Broadens Disty & Discovery Touchpoints via ULTA Rollout: The launch aligns with BBWI's

“Consumer First Formula,” which prioritizes expanding reach beyond its historically vertical, owned-

retail model into a more omnichannel ecosystem. This includes wholesale partnerships (e.g., AMZN,

college bookstores) & continued investment in owned-store productivity. In 4Q, mgmt guided to ~

$50M (+~50bps) of FY26 revenue contribution from new distribution channels; we expect AMZN to

drive the majority given its broader assortment vs ULTA's more limited rollout at ~40% of doors. Co

sees early traction from selective marketplace expansion (e.g., AMZN +DD% W/W across ~90 SKUs

in Q1) as reinforcing underlying demand for the brand across new shopping channels. Consistent

with rollout on AMZN, we expect BBWI to prioritize scaling proven categories/SKUs at ULTA

rather than materially widening assortment breadth, with incremental distribution announcements