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The Body Shop confirms more than 100 stores will shut for good – here’s the ones closing today

Cosmetics brand will be closing some doors to customers from today

Lydia Patrick
Tuesday 20 February 2024 15:25 GMT
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Body Shop To Cut Almost 300 Jobs And Shut Almost Half Of Shops

The Body Shop is set to close nearly half of its 198 shops across the UK after falling into administration last week.

The cosmetic chain is also set to cut around 270 head office roles as part of a heavy restructuring.

On Tuesday, it was announced half of The Body Shop’s branches would be closing for good, with seven - including four in London - shutting immediately.

The Body Shop will close seven shops for good on Tuesday (Getty Images)

Administrators FRP said last week: “The Body Shop remains guided by its ambition to be a modern, dynamic beauty brand, relevant to customers and able to compete for the long term. Creating a more nimble and financially stable UK business is an important step in achieving this.

“The Body Shop has faced an extended period of financial challenges under past owners, coinciding with a difficult trading environment for the wider retail sector.”

The Body Shop (Getty Images)

The retailer was founded in 1976 by Anita Roddick and her husband Gordon and was one of the first companies to promote so-called ethical consumerism, focusing on ethically produced cosmetics and skincare products.

It comes only weeks after new owners, European private equity firm Aurelius, took control of the business. Aurelius, which specialises in buying and turning around troubled firms, secured a £207m deal in November to buy The Body Shop from Brazilian cosmetics giant Natura &Co.

It only took control of operations officially on 1 January.

The business employed around 10,000 people worldwide at the time of the takeover.

Aurelius agreed a deal late last month to sell the company’s operations in most of mainland Europe and in parts of Asia to an international family office in a “decisive step towards delivering a strong turnaround strategy” at The Body Shop.

Here’s the full list of shops closing immediately:

  • Surrey Quays, London
  • Oxford Street, London
  • Canary Wharf, London
  • Cheapside, London
  • Nuneaton,
  • Ashford town centre, Kent
  • Queens Road, Bristol

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