Body Shop goes bankrupt in Britain due to dengue fever during the Rio carnival – possibly also among Swiss tourists

The cosmetics retailer Body Shop has filed for bankruptcy for its activities in Great Britain. The company is owned by German private equity firm Aurelius and operates more than 200 stores in Britain. It was initially unclear how many of Britain’s 2,500 jobs were at risk.

Curators will look for new owners for the stores, the company announced on Tuesday. “This approach provides the stability, flexibility and certainty to identify the best resources to secure the future of The Body Shop and breathe new life into this iconic British brand,” the company said.

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 and avoid animal testing in the production of their products.

Aurelius only acquired The Body Shop from Brazilian company Natura in November 2023 for £207 million. At the time, around 10,000 people worked for The Body Shop worldwide. The brand previously belonged to the French group L’Oréal.

Recently, Aurelius agreed to sell the company’s operations in most of continental Europe and parts of Asia to an asset manager. For 2022, The Body Shop reported a pre-tax loss of £71m on turnover of £408m. (sda/awp/dpa)