A fading star of Canadian malls now has a stench that not even a coconut body scrub can wash off.
Driving the news: The Body Shop Canada is shuttering 33 (over a third) of its locations, ending online sales, and laying off over 200 workers after filing for creditor protection. The brand says it had to take these measures after its parent company siphoned money from it.
- Once the go-to source for super-smelly, hippy-dippy creams and gels, it’s now $3.3 million in debt — failing to reap the rewards of growing Canadian beauty sales.
Zoom out: The Body Shop International, the U.K.-based parent company, is going through its own restructuring process after being acquired by a private equity firm in November. It’s also selling parts of its European and Asian businesses and leaving the U.S. entirely.
Why it’s happening: The Body Shop came to prominence as an innovator in natural skincare that made a point of being ethically sourced and cruelty-free. Today, this is far less novel. Competitors have caught up or surpassed the chain, leaving it with an identity crisis.
- The Body Shop has suffered years of decline as it failed to innovate as trendy names like Lush and L’Occitane have staked larger market shares, per retail experts.
Why it matters: Tight economic conditions have contributed to a prolonged period of retail closures and exits in Canada. The Body Shop — and other struggling retailers in Canada, like Indigo, perhaps — could go the way of shops that failed to get with the times.—QH