Bath & Body Works has quietly closed 92 stores worldwide since February 2025 — 62 in the U.S. and 30 internationally — according to the company's fourth-quarter 2025 earnings report. Most of the closures were concentrated in mall-based locations, and the company has made clear that every new North American store it opens will follow an off-mall format.

It's a significant strategic pivot for a 36-year-old brand that was, for most of its life, synonymous with the American shopping mall. And it reflects a broader reality that retailers across categories are now being forced to reckon with: the mall model is breaking, and the brands that survive are the ones that learn to live outside it.

The Numbers Behind the Shift

The financial picture explains the urgency. Bath & Body Works reported net sales declining 2% year over year, net income falling 11%, and North America same-store sales dropping 2.6%. The company's response has been a multi-year cost-saving initiative called "Fuel for Growth," targeting $250 million in savings over two years, with approximately $175 million already factored into its 2026 outlook.

About 60% of Bath & Body Works' remaining stores are already located outside malls — in strip centers, lifestyle centers, and standalone formats. The closure strategy is accelerating that mix. The company expects to further reduce new store openings in the coming year, signaling a more cautious, efficiency-driven approach to physical retail.

The Amazon Play

Perhaps the most telling move: in February 2026, Bath & Body Works launched a curated product assortment on Amazon U.S. The decision to sell through its biggest potential competitor speaks to how seriously the company is taking the need to meet customers wherever they are — even if that means ceding some margin and brand control to the marketplace.

It's a pattern we're seeing across specialty retail. Brands that once relied on foot traffic are diversifying into marketplace, DTC, and wholesale channels simultaneously, treating each as a distinct acquisition funnel rather than a competing one.

The Bigger Mall Picture

Bath & Body Works isn't alone. Retailers vacated 6 million more square feet than they filled in Q1 2026 — the weakest quarter for shopping center leasing since early 2020. Coresight projects roughly 7,900 U.S. store closures in 2026, and while that's actually a 4.5% decline year over year, the closures are disproportionately hitting enclosed malls.

Walgreens is closing 1,200 stores over three years. Macy's is winding down 150 locations through 2026. Eddie Bauer, as we reported this morning, closes its final 174 stores by Wednesday. The mall anchor tenant model that sustained American retail for half a century is unwinding in real time.

What Comes Next

For Bath & Body Works specifically, the playbook is clear: fewer stores, better locations, digital expansion, and cost discipline. The "Fuel for Growth" program is built to fund a transition, not just cut expenses. The Amazon partnership gives the brand access to customers who would never drive to a strip mall for a candle. And the off-mall format stores, which typically cost less to operate and capture drive-by traffic, are performing better than their enclosed-mall counterparts.

The question isn't whether Bath & Body Works can survive the mall exodus — it's already surviving it. The question is whether the brand can grow again once the restructuring is done. With net income still declining and same-store sales negative, that's the harder problem to solve.