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Sandra Halliday Published
February 20, 2025
The Body Shop’s administrators, FRP, on Tuesday confirmed the restructuring plan for the UK business that was put into administration by its new owner Aurelius last week. And while it’s a tough one, it clearly could have been even worse.
What’s clear is that the chain will survive as a major UK beauty retailer, but it will be significantly smaller than it was.
The administrators said that “stores remain a part of [the] future strategy, with more than half expected to stay operational”. There will also be a “renewed focus on products, online sales channels and wholesale” and that global franchises are “central to The Body Shop’s long-term international strategy”.
FRP’s Tony Wright, Geoff Rowley, and Alastair Massey are the joint administrators and said that last week’s filing came after “years of unprofitability”.
And “following a full evaluation of The Body Shop’s UK business”, they’ve “concluded that the current store portfolio mix is no longer viable”.
The result is that seven stores are closing immediately, including some in flagship locations, and London appears to have been a focus. The closures include the store on Oxford Street (not far from Bond Street), as well as other London sites such as Surrey Quays, Canary Wharf and Cheapside. Nuneaton in Warwickshire, Ashford Town Centre in Kent, and Bristol Queens Road are also closing as of Tuesday.
More closures will happen so there will clearly be some nervousness among store staff until the locations are revealed. No timeline has been given for that.
But “more than half of The Body Shop’s 198 UK stores will remain open”.
Unsurprisingly, FRP said that “following the earlier sale of loss-making businesses in much of mainland Europe and parts of Asia, and to support a simplified business, The Body Shop will also restructure roles in its Head Office to align with this forward-looking strategy and more nimble, financially viable model”.
That means job cuts of around 40% to result in a “future headcount of over 400 full-time employees”. The Body Shop Ambassador programme — by which consultants in the UK can earn commission by offering people in their network offers from the retailer — will also close.
All of this, plus the aforementioned renewed focus on the brand’s products, online sales channels and wholesale strategies, are aimed at “bringing the brand in line with industry peers and supporting a return to financial stability”.
Also with that in mind, the administrators said that “stabilising and strengthening the central core will also support The Body Shop’s international strategy, with Global Head Franchise Partners and wholesale partners in Asia, Middle East and Europe a cornerstone of future success”.
The plan is that the swift actions being taken should “help re-energise The Body Shop’s iconic brand and provide it with the best platform to achieve its ambition to be a modern, dynamic beauty brand that is able to return to profitability and compete for the long term”.
Analysts believe that the problems faced by The Body Shop may have partly been unique to the business. But they’re also a symptom of a wider retail malaise, despite the apparent bounce-back of physical retail.
National accountancy group UHY Hacker Young said the announcement of the closures highlights the difficulties facing the high street – and that similar closures will likely be repeated over the coming months.
Partner Brian Johnson said the high street is still suffering from an underwhelming Christmas shopping period: “There’s a lot of pain on the high street. The economy is improving now but high street stores are yet to feel the uplift. The cost-of-living crisis bit into people’s budgets and restricted consumer spending in the run-up to Christmas.
“We shouldn’t expect things to improve until at least the midpoint of this year. Tough months lie ahead. Rent and energy costs are still major problems – many of these stores simply aren’t generating enough revenue to justify the floorspace.”
And he said that while the chain may deal with its own problems, its solution creates issues for other businesses: “The administrators are looking to reduce property costs for the group. Unfortunately for the landlords, there’s a limited number of tenants who will be willing to take on retail units that have been loss-making for a well-known high street brand.
“One of the main concerns for the business will be limiting the impact to its suppliers. They’ll want to cut costs without jeopardising the supply chains for the surviving stores.”