The Body Shop closes all locations in US, dozens in Canada

The beauty company The Body Shop has shut down all locations in the U.S. according to a news release from the company.

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The release focuses on operations north of the border, saying that The Body Shop Canada Limited has entered a restructuring process.

All stores in Canada are open, but 33 will be closing and liquidation sales have started at those locations.

However, a single line in the news release announcing the situation in Canada mentioned that the company has shut down in the U.S.

“Also effective today, March 1, 2024, The Body Shop US Limited has ceased operations,” the company wrote.

Checking the company’s U.S. website on Thursday afternoon, Cox Media Group National Content Desk received a page that read, “We’re currently undergoing planned maintenance, but don’t worry we’re due to be back online soon.”

The News & Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina, reported this week that the employees at the Wake Forest distribution center were told last week that the company was shutting down the U.S. operations.

The employees were told to report to the warehouse on Friday and were given a letter telling them they were out of a job immediately and that “This action is expected to be permanent.”

The Body Shop International is owned by Aurelius Group, which purchased the company for $261 million in January, but Aurelius said that the beauty supply shop was “in a worse state than expected” after the deal was finished.

Last month, The Body Shop filed for insolvency administration and FRP Advisory took control of the business, keeping locations and online sales open, The Associated Press reported.

The Body Shop has faced an extended period of financial challenges under past owners, coinciding with a difficult trading environment for the wider retail sector,” FRP said in February, according to the AP.

Originally, it was expected to only affect the British operations, but then FRP stopped the flow of money to the U.S.-based arm of the company, the News & Observer reported.

But FRP did warn when it took over that, “The Joint Administrators will now consider all options to find a way forward for the business and will update creditors and employees in due course,” Reuters reported. “The Body Shop has faced an extended period of financial challenges under past owners, coinciding with a difficult trading environment for the wider retail sector,” the company went on to say.

The Body Shop was started in Brighton, England, in 1976 by environmental and human rights activist Anita Roddick. The company refused to test products on animals and promoted natural ingredients, Reuters reported.

It was sold to L’Oreal in 2006. In 2017 a Brazilian cosmetic company, Natura&Co bought it. That company sold it to Aurelius.

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