The Body Shop

[thursdaygrumbles]

Reading the news today, the body shop was bought recently. They’ve just announced that it’s gone into administration.

What the hell, is this a tax dodge, asset stripping or something else?

every company has to do it’s due diligence, the financial position would have been very clear, banks would have to sign off on it.

It just sounds so dodgy, can anyone enlighten me on why they would have done this so soon after buying it

This would’ve been a great idea. It would have appealed to teens but also to nostalgic middle-aged women. I’d definitely have bought a kiwi lip balm and a few other things from way back.

I remember Body Shop stuff as birthday and Christmas gifts to/from friends (we’d spend about £3 - £5 on each other) and stocking fillers from mum in the 1980s and 1990s, but the brand is too expensive for girls and young women now. But it’s not of sufficient quality to appeal to older women. Completely lost its way.

As so many others have said - it just isn't what it used to be when all the products had green labels. The excitement of choosing one of those tiny perfume oils that despite the small size lasted about a year!

Good riddance to bad rubbish unfortunately. I used to love the body shop in the 80s/90s and worked there for a few years as a student. It was a really prestigious job in those days and paid a tidy sum. The product information book was a massive ‘bible’ and people came in for advice on skin and scalp complaints etc. I worked there when the Mama Toto line was launched.

I also loved making up the baskets for girlfriends and wives. I would take the men round the shop and talk through the products. It’s was especially wonderful when they spent a lot and would let me choose a whole bunch of goodies and I made sure they were well and truly pampered.🥰

In those days we also had to make up all gift baskets from scratch, curling ribbon, adding flowers etc. They were far more special than the generic crap of today.

I worked for a youth homelessness charity in London and Body Shop were massively supportive of our work, both with money from their Foundation, and products to make up "welcome packs" for the young people.

It was a long time ago though.

I loved the Body shop when I was a teenager I was always in there buying my White Musk and Dewberry products and those little fancy soaps ( I'm 45 so 30 years ago!) But as I've got older the prices have gone and the products have changed.

Bugger, I've only just started shopping with them again!

I had my own lengthy boycott against them, ever since they sold out to a parent company that actively tested on animals.

Guess I'll be stocking up on their Drops of Youth and ginger shampoo/conditioner when the clearance sales begin 😞

Exactly my reason for boycotting them too, all those years ago. Anita Roddick would have been turning in her grave!

I'm gutted, I've never found anything as good as their ginger shampoo for my dandruff!!! They are also the only place I know who tried to make it more sustainable by reusing the packaging, ive filled up my shampoo bottle multiple times
But I do agree it got expensive. I love the vitamin E face cream, but it's almost doubled in price over a short space of time.

It was aspirational when I was a tween in the 90s but I lost interest when the pricing became so complicated, I don't want to spend so time figuring out the best deal, 3 for 2 etc. Then came JKR, then MLM ! No thanks.

That's when I started boycotting them too.

Priced themselves out of the market for many, and then went after JKR which drove many more away from their products. And I knew a few women who were part of their MLM scheme... never seemed to actually make any money at it...

I’m sad to read this. Dewberry and white musk were my go to scents as a teen and many a Saturday were spent browsing. I do still like a lot of their products but I think it’s expensive and generally wait for sales.
I know a couple of people that have done the MLM and did quite well through it.

I’m going to go against the grain and say I love Body shop stuff…especially their body butters, shower gels and the face creams…those who stopped shopping their is there an alternative you went to? (Not Lush)

I'm a fan of L'occitane, but it's even more expensive.

M&S has nice stuff too. And Aldi (but it's not really comparable to BS)

I'm sorry to hear this for the sake of the staff who will be losing their jobs. I actually liked their edelweiss skincare and their tea tree shampoo and their body yoghurts. I will stock up in the sale. Is it likely that the business will close completely or go online only.

I used to like them. Starting off with an ethical & environmental selling point which was unusual at the time. But the competition caught up & produced better products. They then marketed themselves to teen market, went woke to try & jump on the trans bandwagon, attacked JKR which alienated many older loyal costumers who had the spending power.

They lost their way.

I don't think I have stepped inside a store for years.

Shame.

So many High Street names gone over the years.

( W.H. Smith next.)

Thr body shop was THE shop to shop in when I hit my teens (even my dad loved the body shop and he hates shopping-he loved the products and the green ethics)

Fuzzy peach shower gel and perfume,the honey stick (best lip balm in the world),dewberry 5 oil,body butters,soaps and bath pearls etc-i wanted it all and loved browsing

I grew up-the kids loved the chocolate shower gel but not much else and I thought it had gone to pot quality wise (their hand cream used to be really thick-last time it was like water)

Then I just stopped shopping there-they got rid of the retro favourites and it just seemed dated

Then they attacked jkr and I refused to go back-around the time I found the body shop at home was a mlm (I won't support a mlm)

Haven't shopped in one for years-they lost their way and never found their way back

They forgot what a woman is and if they can't be arsed to try to remember,I won't bother shopping there (snag tights,I'm looking at you too)

Lots of other brands available who do know and I'm happy to buy from them

😢😢🥹🥹
oh no!
I buy my hand creme, shampoo and conditioner regularly from there!

I boycotted after the JKR thing.
Must admit I did buy some strawberry moisturiser from tkmaxx at Christmas for dd - figured I wasn't giving money to Bodyshop but to whoever owns tkmaxx, so it was semi okay.

I think it all started to go wrong g when Anita Roddick sold it yo L'Oreal and then ridiculous price rises and tampering with successful formulas just compounded the problem. Their behaviour re JKR was just the final nail in the coffin.

I will remember the Bodyshop of my childhood with great affection and I'm very sorry for all the staff who will lose their livelihood now but they no longer have a USP and have totally lost touch with the market.

What did they do to JKR?

Some sort of transgender thing I think

How many physical stores do they have left anyway? They closed the one in my town, and the three closest ones years ago. Not everyone wants to shop online, and it limits their ability to attract new customers.

They must have already lost loads of sales, even before people started boycotting.

Edited to add - the formula changes were an absolute pain too. The thing I did sometimes order online started to irritate my skin when they changed the ingredients.

I agree with them getting expensive for what it was. I found products that worked for me for way less and at bigger sizes than what they offered. I only shopped there because my DH likes their skincare for himself and had a rewards card.

I work for them.
The first I heard of this was on the news this morning.
All those remote community growers and suppliers around the world that the company has supported for decades. We funded schools being built, for gods sake, and now we fucked it all up.