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CO Bigelow at Bath and Body Works?

okay, just got more info. I spoke with the store manager at a 7th location in NJ. She told me that corporate sends a list of "Discontinued Items" out to all of its stores before the semi-annual Bath and Body Works sales, held each Jaunary and July. The lists include the names of any products which have been, or are being "discontinued" and include detailed instructions to the store managers regarding how to display them, the discounts to be applied to them, etc. This manager told me that the C.O. Bigelow Shaving cream was NOT on the list, which she received for the semi-annual sale back in January. Yet our friend from MS informs us that his store has ALREADY pulled the C.O. Bigelow Shaving Cream from its shelves, since it informed him that the line has ALREADY been discontinued at that location. So, that leads me to believe that some high volume locations will continue to carry it, while other locations (predominantly in the southeast and midwest, where "REAL" MEN would never be caught purchasing items in a Bath and Body Works, unless it was for their lil' lady) have already phased it out.

Regardless, she told me to check back in mid to late May. She said that if the C.O. Bigelow Shaving Cream isn't on the list of discontinued/"to be discontinued" items which she receives in anticipation of the June "semi-annual" sale, then it definitely isn't going to be discontinued this year. Just some food for thought gents. I will contact corporate with this info. and see how they respond.

You are correct sir about "REAL" Men in the south not going in BBW. I never even considered it before I found this website and found out about proraso/aka CO bigelow. The only time I went in was to get something as a gift for a female. In fact I still feel kinda weird about buying stuff there. When I told my wife the other day that I was going in BBW she looked at me like I was crazy. I had to explain to her that they carried men's shaving stuff in there. She was still skeptical.
 
Proraso at West Coast Shaving is always a "winner"--just ordered 2 tubs of soap--price and shipping hard to beat.
 
WHAT!?!?!?!?
Now the ONLY thing that i can get for shaving at B&M stores is Williams and VDH

Same here. :angry:

So it sounds like the consensus is that they are almost certainly keeping the Bigelow cream....just not necessarily in my area of the US. This is aggravating cause I already have no AOS, Body Shop or any other store that carries any halfway decent shaving stuff within an hour or more of me. My Bed Bath & Beyond and Target don't even carry wetshaving supplies like I have heard rumor of in other cities. I buy most of my stuff online or even here on the B/S/T, but it feels nice once in a while to walk into a store, pick up an item, maybe give it a sniff, then pay and walk out with it. At least maybe the new VDH line will be good and if I'm lucky they'll start carrying it at Walmart or something.
 
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You are correct sir about "REAL" Men in the south not going in BBW. I never even considered it before I found this website and found out about proraso/aka CO bigelow. The only time I went in was to get something as a gift for a female. In fact I still feel kinda weird about buying stuff there. When I told my wife the other day that I was going in BBW she looked at me like I was crazy. I had to explain to her that they carried men's shaving stuff in there. She was still skeptical.

And it doesn't help that in any of the B&BW stores I've been in that they shove the Bigelow in the back corner.
 
And it doesn't help that in any of the B&BW stores I've been in that they shove the Bigelow in the back corner.

I have to laugh at the "real men" don't go into BB&W. As I was brand new into wet shaving and realized that there may be something better than my Williams soap. When I realized that BB&W was different from Bed, Bath and Beyond, I drove to a the local mall and located the BB&W. They were a gaggle of over-perfumed, painted...(I'll stop here before I get in trouble). I bought two-large tubes of proraso/bigelow and some Bigelow Barber Aftershave Balm and went home and fell in love.

Going to the mall was a huge step for me as when malls reached a certain level of giga-sized, I began reordering my life to avoid as much as possible being pulled into "destination shopping", but Bigelow shaving creme and aftershave balm were worth it.

A few months later I learned that there was a buy two, get one free sale. So I drove back down to the B&BW store, but this time found only smaller tubes of shave creme and even more over-perfumed, painted patrons. When I got to the register and asked the clerk if she had any of the larger tubes, the response made me feel like a high school student buying he first box of condoms (back in the day when you had to ask the pharmacist).

A few weeks later, I read a post on B&B about a buy two, get two special online. I was able to buy what I wanted, get a better price and avoid the mall.

The moral of this story. Buy online if you can, the selection is better, it saves your time and keeps you away from excessive retail.

Note - Bigelow has discontinued it's Barber line of aftershave balms. Although I like Nivea sensitive for an everyday, the Bigelow was my go too. One I work through my stockpile, I'll be looking for some other balms.
 
I was in the B&BW in Alliance, Ohio and they said that only the higher volume stores are still carrying it. They did not have it but Canton and Boardman did.

I was looking to pick some up around Christmas and found this to be true. A few stores have stopped carrying it but the staff directed me to a larger store that had it in stock. This was in KY.
 
If it does get dropped that would be sad. I buy so much online that it's nice to walk into a store sometimes and actually walk out with something (on the same day I paid for it!). BBW became a really cool store in my mind, simply because they bothered to stock that green tube. It would be a shame if it went.

Another one that does my soul good is Crabtree & Evelyn... I walked into the CE at Columbia Mall here in Maryland, and was pleasantly surprised to not only find their assortment of awesome soaps and aftershaves, but perhaps six different EJ badger brushes as well.
 
Okay, I just got off the phone with a rep. from the Customer/Store relations department with Bath and Body Works. Here is what she told me:

The 1.7 oz tube of C.O. Bigelow's Premium Shaving Cream is no longer offered on the website or in Bath and Body Works Stores. She told me that Bath and Body Works no longer stocks this product. I told her that I purchased the 1.7 oz tube just yesterday from my local Bath and Body Works store. She responded by confirming that the last shipments of the 1.7 oz tube, which Bath and Body Works received was back in 2008/2009!!! She said that it was certainly possible that there were still some locations, which STILL had 1.7 oz tubes for sale, but that once these tubes were gone, they would not be re-stocked.

HOWEVER, she told me that the 5.0 oz tube was still available (both on-line and in Bath and Body Works tores) and that she had come across no information, which suggested that this size would no longer be available, either on-line or in brick and mortar stores. She asked her supervisor, and he stated that he had not heard any rumours regarding the immiment departure of C.O. Bigelow Shaving Cream from ALL Bath and Body Works brick and mortar stores.
 
Okay, in addition to speaking with the rep. from the Bath and Body Works Store/Customer Relations Dept (a conversation whose content is outlined above), I also received a response to my e-mail.

Dear Doug,


Thank you for your email regarding the C.O. Bigelow Men's Shaving Cream. We are happy to assist you with your inquiry.

We are pleased to inform you that the C.O. Bigelow Men's Shaving Cream is currently available on our web site. We are unaware of this product being discontinued. To view the current this product online, please click on the link below or 'copy and paste' the URL into the address line of your browser:

http://www.bathandbodyworks.com/search/index.jsp?kwCatId=&kw=shave cream&origkw=shave cream&sr=1

For additional products in this line, we recommend visiting your local Bath and Body Works Store or contacting the store customer service. Their hours of operation are 9:00 a.m. till 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time weekdays at 1-800-395-1001 and choose option 0 to get to the correct department. To view a list of stores near you, please click on the link below or copy and paste the URL into the address line of your browser.

http://www.bathandbodyworks.com/corp/index.jsp?page=storeLocator&clickid=footer_storeLocator_txt

Thank you for your interest in BathandBodyWorks.com. We hope you enjoy our products and look forward to serving you in the future.


Sincerely,

Deb M.
Customer Service Specialist
Bath & Body Works Direct
 
Finally, I called C.O. Bigelow and spoke to a manager in their "Store Relations/Product information" department. She told me that C.O. Bigelow and Bath and Body Works are owned by the same corporate entity (Limited Brands, LTD which also owns Victoria's Secret and La Senza!) which would make it EXTREMELY unlikely that Bath and Body Works would stop carrying C.O. Bigelow products altogether. She stated that she had not heard any rumours concerning the C.O. Bigelow Shaving cream no longer being available in ANY Bath and Body Works stores. Given her position within the C.O. Bigelow Company, she said that it was unlikely that word of such a drastic decision would not have leaked out to the C.O. Bigelow reps by now. She also said that her boss with C.O. Bigelow had not heard of any such rumour. HOWEVER, she did note that they are aware that SOME Bath and Body Works Stores have phased out the C.O. Bigelow line. She told me that she lives in Chicago, and that while the Bath and Body Works stores there still carry it, a few of the smaller stores outside of the city, have removed ALL C.O. Bigelow products from their shelves. She said that a Bath and Body Works corporate rep. told her that this was due to the fact that some stores just weren't moving the C.O. Bigelow line of merchandise, so they were allowed to replace it with products, which they were able to sell.
 
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You are correct sir about "REAL" Men in the south not going in BBW. I never even considered it before I found this website and found out about proraso/aka CO bigelow. The only time I went in was to get something as a gift for a female. In fact I still feel kinda weird about buying stuff there. When I told my wife the other day that I was going in BBW she looked at me like I was crazy. I had to explain to her that they carried men's shaving stuff in there. She was still skeptical.

I guess that means I'm not a "Real" man :001_rolle
 
So the million dollar question- what does this all mean? Given all of the information, which we have been able to obtain, I would say that the following assumptions can be made:

1-Certain Bath and Body Works stores have phased out the entire C.O. Bigelow line, due to its sluggish sales in those locations. These stores are predominantly in the deep south, midwest.
2-Bath and Body Works stores in major metropolitan areas will continue to carry the C.O. Bigelow line (including the shaving cream) for the foreseeable future.
3-The 1.7 oz B.O. Bigelow Premium Shaving Cream is no longer carried by Bath and Body Works website, which would seem to lend credence to the Store/Customer Service Relations Rep's claim that THAT particular product is no longer being stocked by the company. However, I did not come across a single person (store manager, customer service rep, store relations liason, etc.) who told me that the 5.0 oz Bigelow Shaving Cream was being phased out by ALL Bath and Body Works brick and mortar stores.

So, take it for what it's worth, gents. I guess time will tell. I e-mailed Debbie back to try to gain a little bit more info. I will let you know when/if she responds.
 
Finally, I called C.O. Bigelow and spoke to a manager in their "Store Relations/Product information" department. She told me that C.O. Bigelow and Bath and Body Works are owned by the same corporate entity (whose name now escapes me, sorry guys), which would make it EXTREMELY unlikely that Bath and Body Works would stop carrying C.O. Bigelow products altogether. She stated that she had not heard any rumours concerning the C.O. Bigelow Shaving cream no longer being available in ANY Bath and Body Works stores. Given her position within the C.O. Bigelow Company, she said that it was unlikely that word of such a drastic decision would not have leaked out to the C.O. Bigelow reps by now. She also said that her boss with C.O. Bigelow had not heard of any such rumour. HOWEVER, she did note that they are aware that SOME Bath and Body Works Stores have phased out the C.O. Bigelow line. She told me that she lives in Chicago, and that while the Bath and Body Works stores there still carry it, a few of the smaller stores outside of the city, have removed ALL C.O. Bigelow products from their shelves. She said that a Bath and Body Works corporate rep. told her that this was due to the fact that some stores just weren't moving the C.O. Bigelow line of merchandise, so they were allowed to replace it with products, which they were able to sell.
again, thank you very much for taking the time and looking further into this matter
 
oh, and one more thing. Mantic also got back to me. His reply is as follows:

To:torretta13

Hi Doug--

The rumor about CO Bigelow at BBW has been swirling around for some time now. Its still available at my local BBW.




^^^Mantic is a pretty knowledgeable guy who has a lot of contacts in the business, so I would think that if this rumour had any legs, he would have heard something about it.
 
After calling the 3 other locations in Mississippi I found some good news.

The BBW stores in Columbus, Tupelo, and Greenwood, MS all still carry the CO Bigelow shave cream as of today. Mind you this is from a phone call and not from seeing it with my own eyes.

Apparently the store in Meridian, MS is the only one that has discontinued the line in my state. :thumbup:
 
On a related note, did BBW ever carry any other rebranded proraso products besides the cream in the tube, as CO Bigelow? (the stuff in the green and white jars or the AS?)
 
I visited the B&BW at our podunk South Carolina mall and they still have plenty of tubes of both sizes on the shelf. The manager told me that she had not seen any communication on this subject.
 
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