Iconic British high street chain SAVED from administration after mass store closures
AN ICONIC British high street chain has been saved from administration following mass store closures.
The Body Shop’s remaining 113 UK stores have been bought by growth capital firm Auréa after 82 shut earlier this year.
It comes weeks after administrators at FRP Advisory confirmed that the chain was up for auction after a restructuring plan was not deemed viable.
Auréa confirmed to The Sun that it has no immediate plans to shut any of The Body Shop’s remaining stores.
The chain also employs over 1,500 workers across the UK.
A spokesperson said: “As with any business, particularly one that has ended up in administration, there is a need to manage costs but we believe that the stores are an important part of the brand’s connection to its customers.
They added that they will continue to monitor The Body Shop’s estate and see how it is performing.
Charles Denton, chief executive of The Body Shop, said: “We believe there’s a sustainable future ahead and working closely with the management team we aim to restore The Body Shop’s unique, values-driven, independent spirit.”
The Body Shop collapsed into administration on February 13, immediately closing seven stores days after.
In April, administrators for the iconic high street brand proposed a company voluntary arrangement (CVA).
A CVA is a way of restructuring that means a business can continue trading by negotiating its debts, such as cutting rent costs with landlords.
At the time, FRP said that if a CVA could not be agreed, it would sell the business and its remaining assets.
The Body Shop also closed its Avon-style Body Shop at Home service for good, and axed its Ambassador Programme which was set to replace it.
Aurelius, which bought the company last November, also confirmed in January that it had sold off most of The Body Shop’s business in mainland Europe and parts of Asia.
Since the chain went into administration, around 500 staff have lost their jobs, and over 270 head office roles have been axed.
The Body Shop closed 82 branches in March and April in the following locations:
- Bury
- Aylesbury
- Beverley
- Blackpool
- Carlisle
- Chippenham
- Farnborough
- Grimbsy
- Halifax
- Hempstead Valley
- High Wycombe
- Hull
- Ipswich
- Kendal
- Kings Lynn
- Loughborough
- Morpeth
- Perth
- Salisbury
- Stafford
- Newton Abbot
- Trowbridge
- Banbury
- Barnstaple
- Basildon
- Bedford
- Bexleyheath
- Blackburn
- Bolton
- Broughton Park
- Camberley
- Carmarthen
- Durham
- East Kilbride
- Edinburgh Gyle Centre
- Edinburgh Princes Mall
- Epsom
- Fareham
- Harlow
- Hastings
- Huddersfield
- Ilford
- Isle of Wight
- Islington
- Lewisham
- Lichfield
- Luton
- Macclesfield
- Middlesborough
- Northampton
- Oldham
- Peterborough Queensgate
- Swansea
- Telford
- Trowbridge
- Wakefield
- Walthamstow
- Wigan
- Wolverhampton
- Bournemouth
- Surrey Quays, London
- Oxford Street Bond Street, London
- Canary Wharf, London
- Cheapside, London
- Nuneaton, Warwickshire
- Ashford Town, Kent
- Bristol Queens Road
Who was The Body Shop founder Anita Roddick?
Dame Anita Roddick, born October 23, 1942, was a British businesswoman, human rights activist and environmental campaigner.
Throughout her lifetime, Anita was best known as the founder of the Body Shop – a cosmetics company producing and retailing natural beauty products.
Anita opened her first Body Shop in Brighton back in 1976.
The brand first started as a small shop providing quality skincare products in refilled bottles, with the belief that the business could be a force for good.
Following this, the Body Shop went on to become a global retail business serving over 30 million customers worldwide.
As a keen campaigner, Anita was involved in activism for environmental and social issues, such as involvement with Greenpeace and The Big Issue.
In addition to this, in 1990, the late entrepreneur founded Children on the Edge – a charitable organisation which helps disadvantaged children in Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia.
In 2007 Anita, who also worked alongside her husband Gordan, sold the company to L’Oréal, but still played an active role in the business.
French firm L’Oreal paid £625million for the company, providing Anita and her husband Gordon with more than £100million for their 18 per cent share in the business.
In September 2007, Dame Anita Roddick passed away at 64 from a brain haemorrhage after being admitted to St Richard’s Hospital, Chichester, West Sussex.
Her husband Gordon, and her two daughters, Sam and Justine, were at her side.
Before her passing, Anita had revealed that she was diagnosed with Hepatitis C in 2004.
The late founder’s illness was first discovered during a routine blood test for a life insurance policy.
She had lived with the illness for more than 30 years before it was discovered – by which time she was suffering from cirrhosis of the liver.
In 2008, a year after her passing, Anita’s will revealed that she had given away all of her £51million to charity and the rest to tax.
HOW HAS THE BUSINESS DECLINED?
The Body Shop was founded by Anita Roddick and her husband Gordon in Brighton in 1976.
It aimed to set itself apart from other beauty retailers by focusing on ethically sourced and naturally-based ingredients.
The brand joined the L’Oreal group in 2006, before being bought by Natura and Co in 2017.
But the move to sell the business to L’Oreal in 2006 has been seen by some as a key moment when its fortunes started to turn.
Mark Constantine, co-founder of The Body Shop’s rival Lush, was a major supplier to it for years under his previous business.
He previously said that under L’Oreal’s ownership the move of manufacturing to the Philippines allowed for better profit margins, but at a price.
He said: “You can’t cheapen every-thing, remove the values and take more profit without customers noticing and going elsewhere.
“They lost that feeling one got, when buying a Body Shop product, that you were helping to change the world.”
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