NEW YORK, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Bath & Body Works ( BBWI )

is going to college.

Students at hundreds of U.S. universities will soon be able

to buy the company's fragrances, candles and other items at

campus bookstores, in a departure from the beauty retailer's

long-held business model as it tries to lure coveted Gen-Z

shoppers.

Bath & Body has struck deals with bookstore operators like

Barnes & Noble and Follett Corp to set up shops inside some 600

campus stores, where it will sell popular fragrances like

Mahogany Teakwood and Champagne Toast, new CEO Daniel Heaf told

Reuters. Schools include George Washington University, Boston

College and Vanderbilt University.

It is the first time that Bath & Body will sell items

outside its own stores, but it won't be the last, Heaf said.

"This idea of being either a wholesale brand or a

direct-to-consumer brand is over," he said, adding that

third-party distribution will be key to growth in the future.

Boosting sales with Gen-Z is a priority for Heaf, who took

the reins in May after a tough year that saw the company's

shares removed from the benchmark S&P 500 index. The shares have

lost 24% over the last two years, and closed at $28.93 on

Tuesday.

College bookstores could be fertile ground for gauging what

younger buyers want without investing much capital, said

Morningstar analyst Jaime Katz.

It's also "a way to keep the conversation going with teen

girls while they're ... not living with their parents anymore,

not going to their usual places anymore," Katz said.

An April survey by investment bank Piper Sandler found that,

among teens, sales of fragrances were up 22% versus the same

time last year, making it the fastest-growing segment in the

beauty industry among teen shoppers.

Before joining Bath & Body, Heaf held various roles at Nike ( NKE )

, including running its direct-to-consumer business,

which former CEO John Donahoe leaned heavily into after the

pandemic, reducing the apparel brand's reliance on third-party

retailers.

That direct-to-consumer shift backfired, and Nike ( NKE ) has since

sought to repair its retail relationships. But analysts have

attributed the failure more to a lack of fresh product than to

the work of Heaf, whose reputation as an innovator remains

solid.

Katz believes Bath & Body's $29 share price could be a

bargain, noting the company's strong operating margins and

limited exposure to tariffs. One challenge Bath & Body faces,

she said, is communicating to consumers the breadth of its

product line, which ranges from soaps to lip balms to

wallflowers.

On that front, Heaf hinted that the company may seek to

streamline offerings, focusing on the strongest sellers, and

ramp up its digital presence. Bath & Body spends 3% to 4% of its

revenue on marketing, but Heaf said he would rather concentrate

on fewer, but deeper, campaigns to boost brand awareness.

"Think about a video on Instagram that tells a story about

the product," he said. "Building awareness leads to a delay in

purchase, because you're capturing a new consumer. But it works.

I've seen it work."