The Body Shop has ceased operations in the US and is closing dozens of stores in Canada amid deepening financial troubles. 

Expanded Restructuring Procedures of The Body Shop

A company announcement earlier this month said that the US arm of the British beauty and cosmetics chain ceased operations on March 1. The Associated Press reported that the brand's subsidiary in Canada also started liquidation of 33 closing stores as part of broader restructuring processes.

The UK-based company recently employed insolvency administrators to explore all possible solutions to its long-term financial problems, and these closures come shortly after.

FRP, the administrators hired by The Body Shop, told AP that the company also plans to close 82 of 198 stores in the UK, which is expected to happen over the next five weeks.

In its announcement on March 1, The Body Shop Canada noted that it had filed a notice of intention under the UK's Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act to obtain a stay of its parent company's administration proceedings in the UK. That would give the company more time to assess its strategic options and implement some restructuring plans.

There were 105 locations of The Body Shop Canada that are still operating at the moment, but the company announced 33 closures and an end of online sales via its Canadian e-commerce platform very soon.

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The Body Shop Over the Years

In 1976, Dame Anita Roddick and her husband established The Body Shop. Since then, the company has been widely recognized as a leader in promoting ethical business practices, as it has advocated for ethical trade and cruelty-free product testing.

In the 1980s, the brand skyrocketed to fame after becoming public on the London Stock Exchange. It quickly expanded to 80 countries, with many of those locations being franchisees.

Roddick and her husband sold The Body Shop to the cosmetics behemoth L'Oréal in 2006. In 2017, the brand was transferred to Natura, a Brazilian cosmetics company. 

Late last year, it was sold to Aurelius, a private equity group that focuses on acquiring and reviving struggling firms, for $261 million.

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