The Body Shop files for suspension of payments in France

After The Body Shop UK went into administration on February 13, the British cosmetics brand’s French subsidiary filed for suspension of payments with the Paris trade court on Tuesday March 19, according to LSA. In France, The Body Shop employs 260 people, and it operates 59 directly owned stores and 7 franchised ones, having introduced the franchising option only recently.
 

The Body Shop has not yet confirmed to FashionNetwork.com that is has activated the procedure, which its employees had been concerned about for several weeks. Aurelius, the German investment fund that took control of The Body Shop at the end of December 2023, said at the end of January that, in order to turn the business around, it was going to withdraw from a dozen European and Asian markets.

The cosmetics brand then filed for bankruptcy in several countries, while its future on the French market remaines unclear. Business in The Body Shop’s French stores has been slumping, and its e-shop was put on hold.

According to official documents, following the resignation of Hugues Laurençon and Andrew McCrea, joint heads of The Body Shop in France, Aurelius put Martin Rivers in charge of the brand in France on March 11.

LSA has reported that it was Rivers who announced the latest news to the employees on Tuesday, in a conference call. It remains to be seen whether The Body Shop’s French subsidiary will be liquidated or instead placed in receivership, leading to a rationalisation of its store network, as is the case in the UK, the brand’s original market.

According to BFM Business, Rivers also mentioned a plan for the total or partial sale of the brand’s French shops. BFM Business stated that between now and the court hearing, reportedly scheduled in early April, The Body Shop’s French stores will remain open, and customer deliveries should resume partially.