Troubled beauty chain Bodycare to close 32 stores

5 hours ago 4

Faarea MasudBusiness reporter, BBC News

Alamy Two customers leave a Bodycare shop, where shelves and shelves of beauty and cosmetic products reach from the ceiling to the floor.

Struggling health and beauty chain Bodycare says it will immediately shut 32 of its stores across the UK and make 450 staff redundant, after going into administration.

Known for being a bargain stop for cosmetics and beauty products, including big tubs of popular moisturisers and conditioners displayed on floor-to-ceiling shelves, the firm has about 1,500 employees.

It has 147 bricks-and-mortar shops which have become too expensive to maintain amidst rising rents.

The company's administrators said retailers were facing "challenging times" with rising costs and fierce competition for consumer spending.

The firm said the majority of its stores will continue to trade as normal while it explores "options" including looking for a buyer.

Bodycare will shut stores in places including Croydon, Edinburgh, Hemel Hempstead, Scunthorpe and Wrexham.

The news comes after the US owner of accessories and jewellery store Claire's, which also has a prominent High Street presence, said it secured a buyer after filing for bankruptcy, suffering from higher costs in its supply chain.

Poundland recently avoided collapsing into administration after its turnaround plan was approved days before the chain was due to run out of money.

Nick Holloway, managing director at Interpath and joint administrator, said: "These remain challenging times for high street retailers as rising costs and reduced consumer spending continue to weigh heavily on trading.

"Unfortunately for Bodycare, which was also contending with a significant funding gap and increasing creditor pressure, these challenges proved too difficult to overcome."

Bodycare's no-nonsense store layouts are known for their bright lighting, and window displays that often feature piles of toilet tissue or pyramids of fabric conditioner.

It also offers warehouse-style display shelves packed with goods like lip balm, perfume, false nails and foot cream.

But its administration highlights how tough the "value sector of retail is finding both trading conditions and the cost of operating on UK high streets", said retail analyst Catherine Shuttleworth.

"Competition is fierce for every pound spent by shoppers on health and beauty products", she said, adding that competition was "strong" from the likes of Boots to B&M.

She said younger shoppers were moving more towards TikTok for their health and beauty products - but, Bodycare's administrators admitted, a move to online was something it struggled with.

Ms Shuttleworth added that along with the rising cost of labour, the impact of shoplifting continued to grow.

Last month, fashion chain River Island said it would close 33 stores in a restructuring move after struggling with high costs and multi-million pound losses.

Retail analyst Natalie Berg said there was "no room for complacency" in the current retail landscape.

"In today's market, standing still is falling behind. You have to continuously evolve if you want to stay relevant to your customers."

The stores which are to close with immediate effect are: