BBWI · CIK 701985
What Bath & Body Works, Inc. told the SEC could break it.
Bath & Body Works' disclosures center on the shape and exposure of its supply chain. It relies on a limited set of vendors — its largest supplied about 12% of merchandise purchases in 2025 and its five largest roughly 40% combined — and on third-party manufacturing plus its own distribution facilities clustered near its central Ohio headquarters, leaving it susceptible to regional disruption. Import and trade policy weigh on the rest of the register: tariffs were the primary driver of its 2025 merchandise-margin decline (with refund uncertainty after the February 2026 Supreme Court ruling on IEEPA tariffs and their swift re-imposition under other authorities), and goods from its Chinese suppliers carry detention risk under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, since it lacks full visibility into sub-tier supply chains.
4 self-disclosed vulnerabilities, pulled from its own filings, each in the company’s words, with the source. This is the risk register almost nobody reads.
In its own words
What could break it.
Regulatory & policy
- import tariffs (realized merchandise margin impact; IEEPA refund uncertainty)medium
Tariffs were the primary driver of BBWI's 2025 merchandise margin rate decline; the Feb 2026 Supreme Court IEEPA invalidation created refund uncertainty, and the government immediately re-imposed tariffs under alternative authorities, sustaining exposure.
“Gross Profit dollars decreased due to the decline in the merchandise margin rate, primarily driven by tariffs, partially offset by lower Buying and Occupancy Expenses, which benefited from exiting a third-party fulfillment center in the first quarter of 2025.”
- Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) / XUAR import banmedium
Goods imported from Chinese suppliers risk CBP detention under the UFLPA's presumptive ban on XUAR-linked inputs; BBWI lacks full visibility into sub-tier supply chains to confirm raw materials are XUAR-free.
“Although none of our Chinese suppliers are located in the XUAR, we do not currently have full visibility to the entirety of each supplier's separate sub-tier supply chains to be able to ensure that the raw materials or other inputs they use to manufacture their goods are not produced in the XUAR.”
Geographic concentration
- central Ohio manufacturing & distribution clustermedium
BBWI relies heavily on third-party manufacturing and its own distribution facilities clustered in close proximity to its central Ohio headquarters, making it susceptible to local/regional disruptions.
“To achieve the necessary speed and agility in supply of our inventory, we rely heavily on third-party manufacturing facilities and our distribution facilities in close proximity to our headquarters in central Ohio.”
SEC filing →As of 2026
Supplier concentration
- largest vendor (12% of merchandise purchases); top 5 = 40%medium
BBWI relies on a limited number of vendors; its largest (unnamed) vendor supplied ~12% of total merchandise purchases in 2025 and its five largest vendors ~40% combined.
“In 2025, our largest vendor supplied approximately 12% of our total merchandise purchases (on a dollar basis) and our largest five vendors in the aggregate supplied approximately 40% of our total merchandise purchases (on a dollar basis).”
SEC filing →As of 2026
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