THE Body Shop has confirmed the latest locations of the 198 stores that are set to close after falling into administration.
The beauty chain will pull down the shutters on a total of 75 sites over the next four to six weeks.
1
It comes after seven The Body Shop stores already closed their doors for good, including in London, Bristol and Warwickshire.
When the company collapsed, administrators said the firm would “consider all options” but concluded the current range of stores “is no longer viable”.
Almost 500 staff will lose their jobs when the 75 stores shut their doors for good, FRP Advisory said.
However, they confirmed 116 branches across the UK will remain open for now.
READ MORE IN MONEY
Below is the full list of locations closing within four to six weeks.
- 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 Silverbur
- 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
FRP Advisory said the 75 branches would close in a “phased” approach, and were shutting due to reduced footfall.
Exact dates for when the stores will close have not been revealed.
Most read in Money
Which stores have already closed?
The seven branches shut last week include sites in Surrey Quays and Oxford Street, London.
The full list that have already closed are:
- Surrey Quays, London
- Oxford Street Bond Street, London
- Canary Wharf, London
- Cheapside, London
- Nuneaton, Warwickshire
- Ashford Town, Kent
- Bristol Queens Road
Which stores are staying open?
Administrators have said that a total of 116 shops will be staying open.
- Aberdeen
- Ashford Outlet
- Basingstoke
- Bath
- Belfast Victoria Square
- Birmingham New St.
- Birmingham Bullring
- Bluewater
- Bracknell Lexicon
- Bradford Broadway
- Braintree Outlet
- Brent Cross
- Bridgend Outlet
- Brighton
- Bristol Cabot Circus
- Broadgate
- Bromley
- Bury St Edmonds
- Cannock Outlet
- Cardiff St Davids
- Castleford Outlet
- Canterbury Whitefriars
- Chelmsford
- Cheltenham
- Chesire Oaks Outlet
- Chester Foregate Street
- Chesterfield
- Chichester
- Clarks Village Outlet
- Colchester
- Coventry
- Crawley County Mall
- Cribbs Causeway
- Dalton Park Outlet
- Derby Intu
- Doncaster Lakeside Outlet
- Dudley
- Dundee
- Dunfermline
- Ealing
- East Midlands Outlet
- Eastbourne
- Edinburgh St James
- Enfield
- Fleetwood Outlet
- Foyleside
- Glasgow St. Enoch
- Gloucester
- Gretna Outlet
- Guildford High Street
- Gunwharf Outlet
- Harrogate
- Harrow
- Hatfield
- Hereford Commercial St
- Hounslow Treaty Centre
- Icon at O2 Outlet
- Inverness
- Kingston-Upon-Thames
- Lancaster
- Leamington Spa
- Leeds Briggate
- Leicester New Shires
- Lincoln Waterside
- Liverpool One
- Livingston Outlet
- Llandudno
- London Bridge
- Lowry Outlet
- Maidstone
- Manchester Arndale Centre
- Manchester Royal Ex
- Meadowhall High St
- Metro Centre Platinum Mall
- Milton Keynes
- Newcastle Eldon Sq
- Nottingham Bridlesmith Gate
- Oxford Street Soho
- Oxford Westgate
- Poole
- Preston
- Reading
- Romford
- Rushden Lakes
- Shrewsbury
- Skipton
- Solihull
- Southampton West Quay
- Southend
- Spalding
- St. Albans
- Staines
- Stockport
- Stratford City Westfield
- Sunderland
- Sutton
- Swindon Outlet
- Talke Hanley Outlet
- Taunton
- Thurrock
- Trafford Park
- Truro
- Tunbridge Wells Royal Victoria Place
- Uxbridge Market Square
- Warrington
- Watford
- Wembley Outlet
- White City Westfield
- Whiteley Village
- Wimbledon
- Winchester
- Windsor
- Worcester
- Worthing
- York Coppergate Walk
- York Depot
FRP also said the retailer would be focusing more on online sales and wholesale.
Meanwhile, a restructuring of its head office will lead to the loss of 270 jobs.
Who was 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.
Prior to 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.
It comes less than a month after reports emerged that The Body Shop was set to call in administrators and begin the insolvency process.
The Body Shop has continued to trade through stores and online during the administration process.
The process only affects the UK business, with international franchises not impacted.
The retailer was founded in 1976 by Anita Roddick and her husband Gordon as one of the first companies to focus 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 £207million deal in November to buy The Body Shop from Brazilian cosmetics giant Natura & Co.
It only took control of operations officially on January 1.
What else is happening on the high street?
The Body Shop, like many other high street retailers, has experienced financial struggles amid a challenging backdrop for shoppers.
Brick-and-mortar shops have been hit hard due to shopping habits turning more to online retail.
Numerous high street brands have collapsed into administration in the last 12 months, including major discounter Wilko.
But it has since returned to the high street under The Range’s ownership, and Wilko-branded items are being stocked in The Range stores.
Both M&Co and Joules are among the well-known brands which went bust in 2022.
Paperchase then collapsed into administration at the end of January last year and all 106 stores later closed for good.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
The Sun has taken a deep dive into what went wrong at the beloved chain.
Meanwhile, we’ve put together a handy guide to all the retailers shutting shops in February including Boots and Costa.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].
Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories.
