Body Shop files for bankruptcy protection in Canada, 33 stores to close including 1 in Mississauga, Ontario
Published March 1, 2024 at 1:59 pm
The Body Shop Canada announced it has filed for bankruptcy protection and will close 33 stores across Canada including 15 stores in Ontario.
The U.S. branch of The Body Shop has ceased operations entirely effective today, March 1.
There had been hints at financial woes when the British company announced it filed for administration — a process that allows companies to restructure or wind down without paying off its debts in the U.K. Yesterday, administrators announced 75 stores across the U.K. will close in the next six weeks.
The first Body Shop opened in 1976 in Brighton, England.
The Canadian subsidiary of the global beauty brand with 105 stores across the country, announced today (March 1) that it has started restructuring proceedings.
The restructuring will “provide additional breathing room while it evaluates its strategic alternatives and implements certain restructuring initiatives,” a press release from The Body Shop stated.
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All of The Body Shop Canada’s 105 store locations are currently open for business, however, online sales via Canada’s e-commerce store will stop.
The website is currently shut down.
And 33 stores across Canada will close soon.
The following stores in Ontario will close:
- Pearson Airport Terminal 1 (Mississauga)
- Bayview Village (Toronto)
- Queen Street East (Toronto)
- Dufferin Mall (Toronto)
- The Shops at Don Mills (Toronto)
- Stone Road Mall (Guelph)
- Carlingwood Mall (Ottawa)
- Rideau Centre (Ottawa)
- Cataraqui Town Centre (Kingston)
- Fairview Park Mall (Kitchener)
- Lambton Mall (Sarnia)
- Lansdowne Place (Peterborough)
- Lynden Park Mall (Brantford)
- Place d’Orleans (Orleans)
- Timmins Square (Timmins)
These shops are listed as closing across Canada:
- Champlain Place (Dieppe)
- Corner Brook Plaza (Corner Brook)
- Cornwall Centre (Regina)
- Hillside Shopping Centre (Victoria)
- Lawson Heights (Saskatoon)
- Lloyd Mall (Lloydminster)
- Londonderry Mall (Edmonton)
- Mayflower Mall (Sydney)
- McAllister Place (Saint John)
- Medicine Hat Mall (Medicine Hat)
- Midtown Plaza (Saskatoon)
- Park Place (Lethbridge)
- Semiahmoo (White Rock)
- Shoppers Mall (Brandon)
- Sunridge Mall (Calgary)
- The Centre (Saskatoon)
- Truro Mall (Truro)
- Village Green (Vernon)
The Canadian division of the retailer has been a steady presence predominantly in malls since its expansion into the country in 1980, but in more recent years has faced several challenges, including the dawn of e-commerce and the growth of beauty brands Sephora, Bath & Body Works and Lush brought intense competition to the sector.
The Body Shop Canada responded in 2022 by opening some stores under a new “workshop” concept that taught customers about sustainability practices, explained who makes their products and what consumers can do to get involved in environmental and community activism.
The Body Shop International Limited, a once pioneering beauty brand known for its cruelty free heritage and ethical beauty products, was acquired from Natura & Co. by Aurelius Group in December 2023.
Aurelius is known for buying faltering companies it restructures and sometimes resells. Over the last 20 years, it bought British home-shopping channel Ideal World, the Scholl foot-care business and U.K. drugstore chain Lloyds Pharmacy.
In a November press release, Aurelius partner Tristan Nagler positioned The Body Shop purchase as a way to make “operational improvements and re-energize the business and help to deliver the next chapter of success.”
Lead photo: Rowanlovescars
With files from The Canadian Press
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