Bath & Body Works (BBWI) has swiftly pulled a product off of its shelves after it drew backlash from consumers over its offensive design.
Shortly after Bath & Body Works released its holiday-themed candle “Snowed In,” social media users spotted something unusual about the design of the candle’s label.
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The label is decorated with an up-close image of a snowflake, but each part of the snowflake closely resembles white robes and hoods that are worn by the Ku Klux Klan, or KKK, which is a white supremacist hate group.
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The KKK was founded in the late 1800s in the United States and was responsible for murdering innocent Black men, women and children in the South. The white robes and hoods worn by Klan members are still a symbol of white supremacy and hate.
In the midst of criticism, Bath & Body Works removed the product from its website and stores, and has even apologized to customers who were offended by the candle’s design.
“At Bath and Body Works, we are committed to listening to our teams and customers, and committed to fixing any mistakes we make—even those that are unintentional like this one,” said a Bath & Body spokesperson in a statement to TheStreet. “We apologize to anyone we’ve offended and are swiftly working to have this item removed and are evaluating our process going forward.”
One customer who put in an order for the candle before it was removed claimed in a Reddit post that the product was pulled from their order and was replaced with a “compensatory courtesy candle.” The customer also alleged that a Bath & Body Works representative told them that the product’s label was being redesigned and will later be re-released.
Bath & Body Works declined to confirm with TheStreet whether or not it plans to re-release the product with an updated design.
Bath & Body Works struggles with declining sales
The controversy comes during a time when the company is facing a slump in sales. In its second-quarter earnings report for 2024, Bath & Body Works revealed that its net sales declined by roughly 2% year-over-year during the quarter.
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Also, its direct sales in the U.S. and Canada shrunk by almost 10%, compared to the same time period last year. Low candle sales in the U.S. were a contributing factor in this decline.
The company’s operating income, which is how much money a company has after deducting expenses, also decreased by roughly 2%.
During an earnings call on Aug. 29, which discussed the report, Bath & Body Works Chief Financial Officer Eva Boratto said that the decline in sales are due to customers being more "cautious" with their spending.
“We experienced a more cautious consumer and pressured traffic throughout the quarter,” Boratto said during the call.
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