After bankruptcy in Great Britain: Cosmetics retailer The Body Shop also goes bankrupt in Germany

After bankruptcy in Great Britain
Cosmetics retailer The Body Shop also goes bankrupt in Germany

February 15, 2024 at 3:24 pm

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Cosmetics retailer The Body Shop is filing for bankruptcy in Germany – just days after the company announced it had about 200 stores in the British Isles. 350 employees are affected in this country.

Cosmetics retailer The Body Shop has filed for bankruptcy for its branch in Germany. The Body Shop Germany GmbH filed a related application with the Düsseldorf District Court, according to court announcements.

Düsseldorf lawyer Biner Bähr was appointed temporary bankruptcy administrator. According to the Federal Gazette, in 2021 the chain had 66 branches and more than 350 employees in Germany. During the year, the company recorded a total revenue of around 23 million euros at its branches in Germany. The Body Shop had already filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday for its stores in its home country of Great Britain. The company operates more than 200 stores in the UK.

The company is owned by German investment firm Aurelius. Founded in 1976 by Anita Roddick and her husband Gordon, The Body Shop was one of the first companies to focus on ethically produced cosmetics and skin care products.

Aurelius, based in Grünwald near Munich, acquired The Body Shop from Brazilian company Natura in November 2023 for 207 million pounds (243 million euros). At the time, 10,000 people worked at The Body Shop worldwide. The brand was previously owned by the French group L'Oréal.

Recently, Aurelius agreed to sell the company's operations in most of Europe and parts of Asia to an asset management company. In 2022, The Body Shop reported a pre-tax loss of £71m on sales of £408m. According to its own information, the company is represented in 89 countries worldwide.