The Body Shop collapses into administration with up to 200 stores at risk

13 February 2024 , 13:17

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The Body Shop collapses into administration with up to 200 stores at risk

The Body Shop has collapsed into administration, putting potentially thousands of jobs at risk of redundancy.

The administrators, FRP Advisory, have been brought in to "accelerate restructuring of the chain's UK business. In its announcement today, FRP said it was considering "all options to find a way forward for the business". The administrator says it will continue to update its creditors, 2,000 employees, and customers on the process going forward.

Sky News reports up to 100 stores could be set to close, however, nothing has been announced or confirmed by the administrators. The Body Shop has around 200 UK stores.

As of right now, the administrators have confirmed The Body Shop stores will continue to trade as normal and gift cards will still be accepted - but when a company goes into administration, it can choose to stop allowing vouchers at any point.

The Body Shop has 250 stores in the UK (Getty Images)

FRP said The Body Shop had "faced an extended period of financial challenges under past owners" which coincided with a "difficult trading environment for the wider retail sector". It added: "Having taken swift action in the last month, including closing down The Body Shop At Home and selling its business across most of Europe and in parts of Asia, focusing on the UK business is the next important step in The Body Shop’s restructuring."

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Are you a Body Shop worker and are you concerned about your job? Let us know by emailing: [email protected]

It comes after it was reported last week that the British high street chain was in trouble as trading over Christmas, while its January shopping was not as strong as hoped. Reports also claimed the Body Shop had "insufficient working capital".

The brand had recently been bought by private equity investor Aurelius Group for £207million. At the time, Aurelius Group - which owns other popular brands such as Footasylum - said it would work with the management team to drive "operational excellence" across the brand and would "leverage its expertise and experience in the omnichannel retail and wholesale markets".

At the time of the acquisition, The Body Shop had around 10,000 staff and operated roughly 3,000 stores in 70 countries. The Body Shop opened its first store in Brighton in 1976 by British environmental and human rights campaigner Dame Anita Roddick.

The chain said it was one of the first cosmetics brands to prohibit testing on animals, and also the first company to introduce Fair Trade to the beauty industry. In 2006, Anita Roddick controversially sold the Body Shop to the cosmetic giant L'Oreal. The company was then sold to the Brazilian cosmetics company Natura & Co in 2017 for £857million

Ruby Flanagan