After dipping its toes into beauty, Old Navy has refined its strategy and is gearing up for a nationwide rollout.
Last October, Old Navy, the largest division in Gap Inc., unveiled its beauty pilot plans, consisting of an in-house-developed body care collection alongside an assortment of about 40 brands curated by BeautySpace.
Now the retailer has fine-tuned its strategy, doubling down on the number of doors for the third-party brands, which include E.l.f. Cosmetics, Neutrogena, Touchland, Patchology, Tree Hut and TonyMoly, and relaunching the bath and body line with upgraded packaging and product.
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“When we set down this path of what are we going to do, it really was thinking about Old Navy the brand, and it has always been about accessible style for everyone. It isn’t just about what you wear; it’s how you express yourself. We wanted to do that obviously for beauty,” said Deb Redmond, head of beauty at Gap Inc. “There is a value component, but at the same time, there’s also the trust that goes along with the brand. It is affordable fashion, but it’s also quality, and so that was really important to us to ensure that we were taking all of the joy and the optimism and the self-expression that is synonymous with Old Navy and bringing that to life through the beauty products.”
Both the private-label line and the wider retail assortment were initially available in 150 Old Navy stores in a grab-and-go concept, with 45 of those stores also featuring dedicated beauty shops-in-shop as part of the pilot. By the end of September, Old Navy Beauty Co. will be in around 1,000 locations with grab-and-go, while the shops-in-shop will remain in 45 stores for the time being.
“We’ll maintain the 45 locations,” said Redmond. “There’s additional learnings that we’ve gotten from that, and so as we start to scale in 2027, you’ll see more shop-in-shops. But it will initially start with our grab-and-go concept in our fast lane checkout.”
The rollout will include national brands, as well as Old Navy’s expanded lineup of private-label products, including hair and body mist, body wash, and body lotion available across seven custom scents. Perfumer Jérôme Epinette added two more scents — Embrace, and D’lish — to join the already available Thrill, Splash, Crush, Sweet, and Vibe.
The ONBC body care collection also has upgraded product formulations, including ingredients such as vitamin E, coconut water and aloe vera. Among other packaging tweaks, the 3-ounce and 8-ounce mists, as well as the 8-ounce wash, now use custom bottles that were developed specifically for this line. Prices range from $7.99 for 3-ounce products to $14.99 for 8-ounce products.
Gap Inc. joins a crowded market of apparel retailers in the mid- and lower-tier ranges that have been diving into beauty at a steady clip over the past few years, including H&M, Primark, Zara, Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie.
These have played out to varying degrees of success. Zara is understood to have had success with its private-label business, especially in fragrance. H&M has opened a handful of stand-alone beauty stores in Scandinavia, which now skew more heavily to third-party brands. Urban Outfitters, meanwhile, shuttered its private-label brand Ohii, and has had more success bringing in third-party brands.
As part of its new strategy, Old Navy is expanding its assortment of third-party brands from 40 to around 60. With E.l.f. performing well, it is increasing stock-keeping units from that brand.
“One of the biggest learnings that we had from our pilot was bath and body and fragrance definitely sell all day every day because that is an expression of themselves and so they were looking for that and they expected us to show up in that category,” said Redmond. “We also found out that the Old Navy customer really likes makeup, which is why E.l.f. is such a big partner for us, as we continue this expansion.”
Redmond noted that the retailer is also bringing in some K-beauty as part of the new assortment, and is increasing its penetration in hair care too.
Haio Barbeito, chief executive officer and president of Old Navy, said: “With Old Navy Beauty Co., we’re continuing to build a more complete omnichannel shopping destination for our customers, bringing beauty alongside the style and value they already know and love. This expansion reflects our commitment to making everyday shopping simpler, more inspiring, and more convenient through an accessible assortment designed for everyone.”
This marks the latest beauty move for Gap Inc., which earlier this summer tapped into ’90s nostalgia by reintroducing four fragrances from that era, as well as a new one.
On whether there could be a crossover with Gap fragrances available at Old Navy and vice versa, Redmond said: “Each brand has a unique customer base and demographic, and so I would never say never…..It has to make sense. If it makes sense, sure. At the same time, we’re very brand focused as well too.”
