As I walked down Oxford Street yesterday, I felt a pang in my heart. Seeing the iconic The Body Shop store with its doors shut and a heartfelt note stuck to it, thanking its customers for their support, I actually felt a little teary. Like everybody else in the UK, I have an emotional connection with the beauty brand that shaped my formative years. But beyond that, as a beauty journalist of nearly a decade, the news that The Body Shop has entered administration and is closing nearly half of its stores has hit me like a dagger to the heart. Why? Because I am a huge fan—and not just because I adore its Camomile Cleanser Butter. The truth is, despite all of my years in this job, I still consider The Body Shop to be one of the most (if not the most) impressive businesses in beauty.
Conversations over the past couple of weeks around 'what The Body Shop has done wrong' have left me feeling depleted and, frankly, sad. Its skincare products are trustworthy, efficacious and not obscenely priced, its haircare line holds some of the most coveted products out there (particularly for those with dandruff) and its body creams continue to be the best around. The brand is also one of the very few that operates with ethics and sustainability at its core—not just leaning into buzzwords to sell more product when it suits them.
