Green: Pixie Geldof at an event for The Body Shop, which could be sold
The Body Shop could be put up for sale by its Brazilian owner as part of an overhaul of its health and cosmetics business.
Fabio Barbosa, boss of Sao Paulo-based Natura, launched a shake-up of the group on joining in June. He is looking to slim down the firm, whose share price has plunged 70 per cent in the past year to an all-time low, and is reviewing options.
This could include selling off big-name brands. Senior City advisers said Natura, which owns Avon and posh soap-maker Aesop, could also be taken over by private equity. One said: ‘It’s not in a great position and going through a difficult time. They may sell something like The Body Shop or possibly go private.’
The review is understood to be at an early stage.
Sales at The Body Shop slumped 24 per cent in the first half of the year to £310million. There are now fears that high-end skincare groups will see sales suffer further as customers are unwilling to part with their cash for expensive products.
The Body Shop has 3,000 stores worldwide and more than 230 in the UK. It was founded in 1976 by the late Anita Roddick in her home town of Littlehampton, West Sussex.
Roddick’s vision was to set up an eco-friendly company with animal-free product testing and recyclable packaging long before going green was mainstream. She sold The Body Shop to French cosmetics giant L’Oreal in 2006 for £652million. It was snapped up by Natura in an £877million deal in 2017.
Natura’s first-half sales fell by 10 per cent in the first six months of 2022. While The Body Shop racked up one-off costs by exiting Russia, Aesop saw sales rise 8 per cent.
Natura said: ‘We don’t comment on market speculation, but in difficult conditions we are redesigning our structure and reviewing ways of working to be lighter and leaner.’
