To wonder what happened to Body Shop?

[Handbaghag]

Where have they gone wrong? Why are their shops so dead on the high Street. They were buzzing in the 80s. Is it online shopping? Lush?

Boots shamelessly copied their products anyone recall dewberry, then Anita Roddick sold out, I gave up when I went in and everything was so expensive.

The staff go in on you, they go IN. If I say I'm just looking, then they go for the kids. Wanting to demonstrate makeup on my 6 year old. Go in with a man, it's 'oh, treat your wife to this bronzer oil' (I don't want it, it like Nuxe)...wtf let me browse!

I never used it growing up but now I love it.

Yes it can be pricey but you dont ever need to alot.

For example vitamin c gave wash cost 11 pound I think but will last me 3 months and that's with using it every day. A little goes along way.

Their body yogurts are amazing.

I so can ot wait to get their advent calendar

I still buy their shampoo and bars of soap.
I use one of their agents at home and she is always doing deals which work out cheaper than buying in store.Plus she brings my order to me when she comes for a cuppa so I don’t have to pay car parking in town.

I miss the coconut shimmer body butter, it was really popular with a lot of my friends but they discontinued it so I had to buy it from Italy. They have no idea about what their customers really want and I can see they will soon be gone.

the one near me is always full.
I like their bar soaps and the bb cream.

The only thing I have bought from there for years was their spf 50 very light sun cream which was a decent dupe for watery essence. Now that is not in stock anywhere during the hottest sunniest summer on record.

You'd almost think they don't want to sell stuff!

Price, samey, no USP, repeated 40% discounts devalues brand

They discontinued everything I liked (RIP grapefruit shampoo - you stank but were the only thing that worked on my fine, limp, greasy, asbo hair)
The prices went bonkers - they were accessible to teenagers and very young adults who could go in and buy a couple of the tiniest bottles of stuff, get hooked on it and then pester for presents/gift vouchers
Stalkery-staff
I won't buy from companies that use a MLM approach.

If they started selling the same products that they sold in the 80s and 90s I would be all over it. I just think that a lot of what they sell now is mediocre and very overpriced.

It was sold to L’Oreal in 2006, by Anita Rodrick, who didn’t die until 2007 of a brain haemorrhage. She came under immense criticism.

I used to like browsing and the scents seemed really new and different back in the 90s. I used to be able to go in and buy a couple of little bottles of smelly stuff with my pocket money and still have some cash left over.
I went in a few months ago and it just didn't seem very interesting. Everything seemed so much more expensive.
To be honest for a nice smelling, interesting flavour shower gel something like Original Source is nicer and much better value. There are better alternatives to most of their stuff now.

I use the body shop skin care, a lot of what I buy is always almost sold out. I think a lot of their other stuff is over priced but their skin care is popular.
Also - the whole testing on animals thing. Used to be one of their niches. Whereas now I think it’s pretty much the law?

I have some good, teenage memories of me and my friends making up tiny gift baskets for each other for birthdays. It was cheap and fairly unique at the time. Lush has taken over that market - although I find both too expensive and prefer TK Maxx for random eco friendly beauty stuff..

I still like their grapefruit lip balm. I have a pot in every coat pocket.

Japanese Aduki beans! I’d forgotten them. And their rose perfume was the only scent I could stand when pregnant.

There's still plenty of Body Shop stores in the US.

As others have said, in 1994 they went down the MLM route which is a whole unethical shitshow. They sold out to L’Oreal which is about as in-cruelty free as you can get. They now belong to Natura which is better than L’Oreal I think. When I used to shop in there in the early 80s it was fun and quirky and felt homemade and fresh, now it is boring and others are doing that kind of thing better, plus their loyal followers grew up. The fact they’re MLM means I wouldn’t shop with them on principle as I can’t support a business model where more 99% of sign ups lose money. I don’t like scams.

My sister used to work in there and loved it. I would go in with my friends and buy the baskets that they made up for you and would spend ages smelling all the perfume bottles. You brought back the empty bottles for a refill. It was the perfect model for right now and yet they’ve fucked it up!!

Online shopping has made it easier to buy more exciting/more ethical/cheaper/better products. The only thing I buy from there now is the hemp hand cream, it's amazing.

I remember going in as a child and teenager to buy the animal and fruit shaped bar soaps and to choose Christmas presents for aunties etc.

I spent a lot my pocket money in there but don't think teens would be able to afford to now, it's so expensive. And the fun element has gone, it looks so dull and sterile in there now. It seems to have lost it's heart.

TBH I get the feeling that a lot of teens would rather be seen buying Charlotte Tilbury or Urban Decay and I’d love to know how they afford that.

But I agree that it’s lost it’s way. Surely now would be a good time to bring back refills?

They are doing some better stuff now than in recent years. Top tip- if you see something you like look on your local selling pages for a rep and you will get it quite a bit cheaper

If you have unopened unwanted personal hygiene etc products eg body butter, shower gels drop a bag into your local womens hostel where they will be gratefully received - imagine leaving home in a hurry with just the clothes on your back...

I like the outlet, haircare and shower gels are fab as well as spf50.

There’s a discount one near my office and there are a very products I always get from there - aloe mask which is amazing to soothe skin, the peppermint foot cream, and the tiny handbag hair brushes I often give as gifts which people love, the bail buffing block - best one on the market.

It’s always dead in there though, two or three staff and just me. They’re not terribly friendly and if you ask for anything they can’t be arsed to help. So I only go for the products themselves and because it’s 40% off. If I had to buy full priced I expect I’d find alternatives.

Anita Roddick didn't "sell out".
She died. She had a stroke and died a year later.
I met her once, she did a talk at our school, back in the day. She was extremely passionate about protecting animals from cosmetic testing

They went down the MLM route in 1994. She sold to L’Oreal in March 2006 after much negotiation. She died in September 2007. A relative of mine knew her well and said she was a business woman first and foremost.