This cosmetics company now makes painful closures and layoffs, part of a rigorous restructuring plan taking place in just weeks.
The UK administrators of The Body Shop have provided more details on how many stores will remain open as part of the retailer’s restructuring: 116 locations throughout the UK.
The retailer will close 75 stores in a phased process over the next four to six weeks, and the closures will necessitate laying off 489 employees, reports Retail Touch Points.
Last week we reported that The Body Shop has entered administration, the British version of bankruptcy protection, according to Reuters and other media reports, but it will continue to operate online and via its 199 UK brick-and-mortar stores for the time being.
Private equity firm Aurelius Group purchased the retailer from Natura &Co in November 2023 for nearly $258 million.
Now, FRP Advisory has been brought in to manage the restructuring process.
Originally founded in 1976 by Dame Anita Roddick, The Body Shop was known for its ethically sourced natural ingredients and refillable packaging.
Founder Roddick also was a vocal activist for environmental causes, beginning in 1986 with her support for Greenpeace’s Save the Whales campaign.
In 2006 Roddick sold the company to cosmetics giant L’Oréal, which sold it again to Natura &Co in 2017.
Worldwide, the company operates approximately 3,000 stores in 70 countries.
“The Body Shop has faced an extended period of financial challenges under past owners, coinciding with a difficult trading environment for the wider retail sector,” according to a quote from FRP in the Reuters article.
FRP also noted that “the Joint Administrators will now consider all options to find a way forward for the business and will update creditors and employees in due course.”
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Also Read: Another Popular Restaurant Now Declares An Unexpected Bankruptcy
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This massive restaurant is now closing 41 locations over the next quarter due to major underperformance, sources report.
Bloomin’ Brands will close 41 stores over the next quarter, reports Restaurant Dive.
These units include 36 “predominantly older, underperforming restaurants” and five Aussie Grill locations, including three in the U.S. and two in international markets, according to the company’s latest earnings release.
Bloomin’ decided to close the restaurants in question following a periodic review of assets that included consideration of trade area, historical performance and the investment required to renovate the units and strengthen their sales, CEO David Deno said on the company’s Q4 2023 earnings call.
The company will see “asset impairments and net closure charges of $32.3 million during Q4 2023.
We expect to complete these closures during Q1 2024 and incur charges of between $8 million and $11 million,” according Bloomin’s earnings release.
Deno said Bloomin’ would offer transfer opportunities to a large number of impacted employees and severance payments to those it cannot place.
The closures were not a reflection of the performance of individual employees, Deno said.
“A majority of these restaurants were older assets with leases from the 90s and early 2000s,” Deno told analysts.
Aussie Grill, the smallest of Bloomin’s brands, will be hardest hit by the closures.
According to the chain’s Q3 earnings release, the fast casual brand had 14 units at the start of Q4, with seven in the U.S. and seven in international markets.
The chain’s five closures represent a more than 35% drop in unit count for the brand.
Bloomin’ expects to open 40 to 45 new restaurants in 2024, in areas Deno described as “promising trade areas with great potential.”
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Also Read: This Massive Mall Retailer Is Now Closing In California
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