The Body Shop has declared bankruptcy in the UK, Denmark and Sweden. My au revoir was due to discussions about TBS continuing as a franchise in Sweden in the future. But I think their time was coming to an end anyway.
I have used Body Shop products since the 1970s. I used to stock up every time I was in the UK. The Body Shop then came to South Africa and, of course, it was well-established in Sweden when I arrived here in the late 1990s. TBS was ground-breaking in its day, with its social responsibility and environmental considerations. Many ingredients were sourced from the original native communities thus providing job opportunities and empowerment for women. Body Shop was also early in championing body positivity.
Over time though, Lush (UK) and Rituals (Dutch) have dominated the bath and body market in Sweden. The Body Shop has not really moved with the times and it’s original USP is now everywhere.
About a month after bankruptcy was declared in Sweden, all the shops are shut. I managed to snaffle a few favourites at 50% off on the sale and wondered if I would ever find them again.
I bought Vitamin E facial cleanser and toner, assorted shower gels that I have used before, some scrub gloves and a hair wrap. One product I had never tried before was the Bluebell Shower Gel, but the packaging was pretty and I love bluebells so bought it anyway. It is absolutely lovely. I wish I had grabbed more!
Has The Body Shop closed in your country too?
I seem to live in a town that’s very remote from civilization (we have no Starbucks!). There used to be a Body Shop that was super tiny and it didn’t stay long. We also had a Flying Tiger and it left after many years (it’s still hard for me to face this loss). We do have a Rituals but I’ve never been inside. I tend to ignore physical shops and go for online shops… The state of the shops in my town is really sad. There are barbers in every corner (?) and clothes shops for the elderly and that’s about it… There are a few restaurants and bars too.
There seem to still be some shops in Germany.
My local branch is still open. They sent me £5 for my birthday recently and I got a nice lip balm. I’ve found the prices have really gone up in recent years and they always stop selling the things I really love (orange spice shampoo, aloe body lotion). I think you can buy better brands in TK Maxx for a lot less money, so I only go in to spend the birthday voucher they send out these days.
I agree. I think prices went up but at the same time The Body Shop were no longer offering anything you could not buy anywhere else. I am going to really miss them because they had some products I liked and had used for years. But other brands do offer great products too. I am going to try Molton Brown and Biotherma. I will also explore other Rituals series.