Photos by Stacie Joy
The Body Shop announced that its U.S. operations would shut down immediately. According to published reports, it filed for Chapter 7 insolvency on Saturday, under which assets are sold to clear debts.
The outpost on Broadway at Astor Place was said to have closed on Sunday...
Some background via The Associated Press:
The Body Shop, founded by Anita Roddick and her husband in 1976, is often hailed as an early champion of ethical practices in business. The retailer of soaps, creams and makeup has promoted fair-trading practices and products that were not tested on animals.The brand became hugely popular in the 1980s ... and grew to have stores in some 80 countries, including many operated through franchises.
(A show of hands who bought the bath pearls collection as a gift sometime between 1987 and 1993.)
In 2006, Roddick sold the business to L’Oreal ... and the brand changed hands several times in recent years, first to Brazilian cosmetics business Natura and then to Aurelius, a private equity firm specializing in buying and turning around troubled companies.
Kiehl's Since 1851 is another brand that sold out to L'Oreal; I for one miss their biplanes and motorcycles in the back of the flagship store at 13th and 3rd!
ReplyDeleteI just visited this store last month to take advantage of their annual ten dollar gift for my birthday. Grapefruit soap and peppermint foot exfoliant are or I should say were among some of my favorites. The staff was always helpful and nice. It will be weird to walk past this and not ever patronize this business again. A recent article in the NYTimes stated that many more merchants we continue to purchase items from today will not survive the next two to five years due to excessive inflation, labor costs, online shopping, and AI. We are co-existing in a retail mortuary.
ReplyDeleteRIP Body Shop :(
Wow. I was always amazed that they were still there. Not too many brands like that still hanging around from my high school days!
ReplyDelete