SHUT DOWN
High street blow as 21 The Body Shop branches to disappear THIS WEEK – see the full list including 46 already lost
More closures will follow in the coming weeks
THE Body Shop is set to close 21 stores branches this week in a fresh blow to the high street.
The cosmetics and skincare chain collapsed into administration last month, before announcing 75 shops will shut.
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Almost 500 staff will lose their jobs as part of the closures, administrators at FRP Advisory said.
When the 75 locations were announced, their closure dates hadn't yet been confirmed.
But now, 46 stores have already shut for good, including seven The Body Shop stores that closed with immediate effect in February.
Plus, 20 shops will close on Wednesday (March 20). Below is the list of stores set to close within days:
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- Bury
- Aylesbury
- Beverley
- Blackpool
- Carlisle
- Chippenham
- Farnborough
- Grimbsy
- Halifax
- Hempstead Valley
- High Wycombe
- Hull
- Ipswich
- Kendal
- Kings Lynn
- Loughborough
- Morpeth
- Perth
- Salisbury
- Stafford
Meanwhile, The Body Shop in Newton Abbot will close on Friday, March 26.
The following 46 stores have already pulled the shutters down for the final time:
- 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
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The closure date for more than a dozen stores, including Leeds White Rose and Thanet, are yet to be confirmed.
FRP Advisory said the 75 branches would close in a "phased" approach, and were shutting due to reduced footfall.
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It said the closures would take place over between four and six weeks.
The exact closure dates for each store are not being released at the moment but staff at the affected stores will be informed before closure.
'Sustainable future'
FRP also said the retailer would be focusing more on online sales and wholesale.
Tony Wright, joint administrator, said the closures would "stabilise" the business and ensure it has a "long-term, sustainable future".
When the company collapsed, administrators said the firm would "consider all options" but concluded the current range of stores "is no longer viable".
The administrators confirmed last month that a total of 116 branches across the UK will remain open for now.
Retail giant Next is said to have approached administrators about striking a potential deal to save the troubled health and beauty chain.
Reports first emerged that The Body Shop was set to call in administrators and begin the insolvency process back in early February.
The Body Shop has continued to trade through stores and online during the administration process.
The administrators also said The Body Shop's head office would go through a restructuring, meaning the loss of 270 jobs.
Home service
The Body Shop Ambassador programme to replace the Avon-style The Body Shop at Home service was also axed after launching on just January 12.
The Sun first revealed The Body Shop at Home service was being axed in January but it closed for good on February 23, affecting thousands of consultants.
It came as The Body Shop's German arm fell into administration and after the cosmetics group sold off its business arms in mainland Europe and parts of Asia.
In November last year, The Body Shop was bought out by private equity firm Aurelius in a deal worth £207million.
At the time the firm said it was looking to shift its focus away from the UK market and towards South America.
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.
The Sun has taken a deep dive into what went wrong at the beloved chain.
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.
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
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.
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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.
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