The Body Shop
The Body Shop International Limited, trading as the Body Shop, is a British cosmetics, skin care, and perfume company founded in 1976 by Anita Roddick. In 2017, it stated that its products were sold in about 3,000 stores, some company-owned and others franchised, in 66 countries.[3]
This article is about the cosmetics company. For other uses, see Body shop.Company type
27 March 1976
Brighton, UK
Insolvency, assets sold off
~3,000[1]
- Skin care
- cosmetics
- fragrances
10,000[1] (2017)
L'Oréal (2006–2017)
Natura & Co (2017–2023)
Aurelius Group (2023–present)
Originally trading from Brighton, the company is now based in London Bridge and Littlehampton, West Sussex,[4] and is owned by the private equity firm Aurelius. The company had been owned by the French cosmetics company L'Oréal between 2006 and 2017. In September 2017, L'Oréal sold the company to Brazilian Natura & Co for £880 million.[5][6] In November 2023, Natura sold it to Aurelius.[7]
On 13 February 2024, it was announced that Aurelius had put the UK business of the Body Shop into administration, that the chain would close up to half of its 198 stores in the UK, and that the number of staff at the chain's head office would be reduced by 40%.[8][9]
The Body Shop at Home: direct sales, multilevel marketing channel[edit]
In addition to retail channels, products from the Body Shop were available through the "Body Shop at Home" multilevel marketing network, established in 1994.[36] Distributors (or consultants) could also recruit others to sell the products.[37] The Body Shop at Home announced they would cease trading on 23 February 2024 in the UK and Australia.[38]
The multilevel marketing program was known as "the Body Shop Direct" in Britain and was first trialled in Australia in Gippsland in 1997.[39] In 1998, the Australian division was featured in Australian Financial Review for their motivational-based policy of funding unrelated courses for home distributors, such as tarot reading or French polishing.[40]
In 2014, an unfair dismissal case ruled against the Body Shop (Adidem Pty Ltd T/A the Body Shop v Suckling [2014] FWCFB 3611). The plaintiff, Nicole Suckling, worked in an administrative support role for the Body Shop at Home as an independent direct candle seller for the company PartyLite. The Body Shop alleged that Suckling's access to their confidential contractual information could threaten the company's commercial interests.[41]
The Body Shop carries a wide range of products for the body, face, hair, and home. The company claims its products are "inspired by nature" and feature ingredients such as marula oil and sesame seed oil, sourced through the Community Trade program.
Products include: