The Body Shop reveals full list of UK store closures
Administrators at The Body Shop have confirmed the full list of store closures and subsequent job cuts as part of its restructuring plan to "secure the future of the business".
Further to the announcement by administrators FRP on 20 February 2024 indicating the closure of seven stores, a further 75 stores will now shut in a phased process over the next four to six weeks.
As a result, 489 employees will be made redundant as the individual stores are closed. FRP said it will support all impacted staff with claims to the Redundancy Payments Service.
The latest announcement will leave the retail firm with 116 stores across the UK.
The reduced store footprint coincides with a renewed focus on the British brand’s products, online sales channels and wholesale strategies, aiming to "bring the brand in line with industry peers and supporting a return to financial stability".
Tony Wright, Joint Administrator at FRP, said: "In taking swift action to right-size The Body Shop UK store portfolio, we have stabilised the business and are providing the best opportunity for this iconic brand to have a long-term, sustainable future.
"The UK business continues to trade in administration, and we remain fully focused on exploring all options to take it forward."
After years of unprofitability and following a full evaluation of The Body Shop’s UK business, FRP last week concluded that the brand's store portfolio mix was "no longer viable".
It also announced a 40% reduction in the brand's Head Office staff to a future headcount of over 400 full time employees.
The Body Shop collapsed into administration in the UK earlier this month, shortly 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 £207 million deal in November to buy the Body Shop from Brazilian cosmetics giant Natura & Co.
Full list of store closures
- Aylesbury
- Banbury
- Barnstaple
- Basildon
- Battersea
- Bedford
- Beverley
- Bexleyheath
- Blackburn
- Blackpool
- Bournemouth Commercial Rd
- Bolton
- Brixton
- Broughton Park
- Bury
- Camberley
- Carlisle
- Carmarthen
- Chippenham
- Cirencester
- Croydon
- Didcot
- Durham
- East Kilbride
- Edinburgh Gyle Centre
- Edinburgh Princes Mall
- Epsom
- Fareham
- Farnborough
- Glasgow Braehead
- Glasgow Fort
- Glasgow Silverburn
- Glasgow Station
- Grimsby
- Halifax
- Harlow
- Hastings
- Hempstead Valley
- High Wycombe
- Huddersfield
- Hull
- Ilford
- Ipswich
- Isle of Wight
- Islington
- Kendal
- Kings Lynn
- Leeds White Rose
- Lewisham Centre
- Lichfield
- Loughborough
- Luton
- Macclesfield
- Middlesbrough
- Morpeth
- Newton Abbot
- Northampton
- Oldham
- Perth
- Peterborough Queensgate
- Portsmouth
- Regent Street
- Salisbury
- Stafford
- Stanstead Airside
- Stratford Upon Avon
- Swansea
- Telford
- Thanet
- Trowbridge
- Wakefield Trinity Walk
- Walthamstow
- Wigan
- Woking
- Wolverhampton
