No future for The Body Shop in Belgium after bankruptcy

The Belgian shops of The Body Shop are not making a new start after their bankruptcy in February. The stocks have already been sold to Dutch franchisees.

Also end of franchise

The Body Shop stores in Belgium will not have a new start after the bankruptcy that was declared in February. This is evident from the bankruptcy report of the curator Alice van der Schee, which RTL Nieuws reports on. The curator attributes the failure of the restart to, among other things, the expiration of the franchise agreement for the Belgian stores.

The chain, which was part of the Dutch branch of the sustainable cosmetics brand, had now shrunk to twelve branches with 66 employees. The Belgian annual turnover between 2021 and 2023 was approximately 5 million euros and was (slightly) loss-making. In 2019, a loss of 19,000 euros was recorded, which rose to just over 100,000 euros in 2022. The curator has already sold the store stocks to Dutch franchisees for 140,000 euros. It is still being investigated whether the shop fittings can also be sold.

Founded in 1976, The Body Shop has long enjoyed great success with the sale of sustainable care products. However, the acquisition by L’Oréal in 2006 marked the beginning of a downward spiral. At the end of last year, the German investor Aurelius took over and initiated a rigorous restructuring. This restructuring could not prevent the British parent company and its German sister company from having to request a deferment of payment, which ultimately led to the bankruptcy of the Belgian stores. It is still unclear what the consequences will be for the 27 Dutch branches of The Body Shop.