The Body Shop files for bankruptcy, shuts down all US-based stores: Report

Canadian locations will remain open for the time being

The Body Shop, a cosmetics company based in the UK, has shut down all of its operations in the United States and will soon close several Canadian store locations after filing for bankruptcy, reported CNN. Earlier this month, The Body Shop officially announced that its US subsidiary would no longer be operational from March 1.

The company also mentioned that 33 of its 105 stores in Canada will begin liquidation sales immediately and that online sales via Canada's e-commerce store will stop. However, all Canadian locations will remain open for now.

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According to reports, high inflation in recent years has affected traditional retailers, particularly those like The Body Shop which mainly operate in malls and target the middle class.

The Body Shop, founded in 1976 by human rights activist and environmental campaigner Anita Roddick, is known for its natural, sustainable, ethical and cruelty-free products. It was one of the first companies to prohibit animal testing for many of its products.

The Body Shop, a popular cosmetics brand, has been through multiple ownership changes over the years. In 2006, it was acquired by the cosmetics company L'Oreal for over a billion dollars. The brand was later sold to Brazilian company Natura in 2017 for another billion dollars. However, The Body Shop has been struggling in recent years.

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In an early 2023 report, Natura mentioned that The Body Shop was facing difficulties with a year-over-year sales decline of 13.5% in 2022. Natura stated that 2022 was a challenging year for the brand, and its direct-to-consumer channels, which had benefited from COVID-19, returned to pre-pandemic levels, further affecting sales.

In addition, The Body Shop was sold to asset management group Aurelius for about USD 266 million towards the end of last year, as reported by CNN.