High street legend launches closing down sale as FIVE stores set to shut for good in DAYS
A BRITISH high street legend has launched closing down sales as it shuts five more stores in the coming days.
The Body Shop will pull down the shutters on stores in areas across the UK this month, dealing a fresh blow to shoppers.
The shops will close for the final time on January 15, marking the end of decades of trading.
Stores in Exeter, Plymouth, Horsham, Norwich, and Sheffield will all be shutting their doors.
So far, the high street chain has already closed three branches in Hove, Cambridge Hills Road, and Cambridge Petty Cury.
Closing-down sales are now underway at the five shops set to shut next week.
A sign on the door of The Body Shop in Exeter’s Guildhall Shopping Centre reads: “Dear valued customer, it is with a heavy heart that we announce the closure of the Harsant Franchise of The Body Shop in Exeter and Plymouth.
“We want to express our dearest gratitude for your loyalty and support over the 45 years that we have been trading in Exeter. Our last business will be on January 15, 2025.
“Until then, we will be offering discounts on all remaining merchandise to clear our stock.
“Thank you once again for your support and understanding during this difficult time.”
Shoppers have flooded social media to share their disappointment over the closures.
One wrote: “It’ll be a massive loss for Exeter and the Guildhall Centre.”
Another said: “Oh noo I love The Body Shop, so sorry to hear this!”
In Norwich, the Castle Street store will close after 44 years of trading.
Meanwhile, Sheffield’s Orchard Square branch, which has been a fixture in the city for 34 years, will also shut on January 15.
Tim Boaler, director of Powerfirm Limited, which operates the Sheffield franchise, told The Star: “After 34 years in Orchard Square and the city of Sheffield, it is with great sadness that we have to announce the closure of our Body Shop store. The last day of trading will be Wednesday, January 15, 2025.
“This has been difficult news to manage, particularly for our tremendously loyal – and in many cases long-serving – staff, but also for our many loyal customers.”
He added that the closing date will also mark the last day of work for their “treasured manager” Jean Haigh, who has worked at The Body Shop for nearly 30 years, and their longest-serving employee Dee Smith, who has been part of the team for 22 years.
Tim continued:“Our thanks to everyone who has worked for and supported us since our late uncle, Don Wilson, opened the franchise shop in 1991, when Anita Roddick was at the helm.
“He made Sheffield his home, and it became a place he loved.”
The Body Shop was rescued from administration last year after mass store closures.
Following its collapse, the chain shut 82 branches and slashed hundreds of jobs before being bought out by growth capital firm Auréa in September.
At the time, Auréa assured The Sun it had no immediate plans to close any more of The Body Shop’s remaining 113 stores but acknowledged that cost management is essential after the company’s financial troubles.
A spokesperson said: “As with any business, particularly one that has ended up in administration, there is a need to manage costs, but we believe that the stores are an important part of the brand’s connection to its customers.”
The retailer employs over 1,500 workers across the UK.
Body Shop Closures
Here is the full list of The Body Shop' most recent and scheduled closures.
Hove – closed September 2024
Cambridge Hills Road – closed 28.12.2024
Cambridge Petty Cury – closed 05.01.2025
Exeter – closing 15.01.2025
Horsham – closing 15.01.2025
Norwich – closing 15.01.2025
Plymouth – closing 15.01.2025
Sheffield – closing 15.01.2025
Other store closures
The Body Shop is not the only retailer that will close stores this month.
H&M-owned fashion chain Monki has closed two of its stores this month.
The stores are located at the Intu shopping centre in Newcastle Upon Tyne and in Manchester‘s Arndale Centre.
The Newcastle branch has already closed while the Manchester branch will close on January 17.
H&M plans to close seven Monki stores as it merges the brand with trendy fashion chain Weekday.
Meanwhile, stationer WHSmith will close one of its stores in Bournemouth, Dorset this month.
The shop on Old Christchurch Road will pull down its shutters for the last time on January 18.
The book and stationery chain has closed ten stores since March 2023, including shops in Manchester and Somerset.
Coffee giant Starbucks is also set to close two of its cafes this month.
The popular American chain will shut its coffee house on Dumfries high street on January 12.
Meanwhile, the Starbucks branch inside the Cineworld at Sixfields Leisure will shut for good on January 19.
Why are retailers closing shops?
EMPTY shops have become an eyesore on many British high streets and are often symbolic of a town centre’s decline.
The Sun’s business editor Ashley Armstrong explains why so many retailers are shutting their doors.
In many cases, retailers are shutting stores because they are no longer the money-makers they once were because of the rise of online shopping.
Falling store sales and rising staff costs have made it even more expensive for shops to stay open. In some cases, retailers are shutting a store and reopening a new shop at the other end of a high street to reflect how a town has changed.
The problem is that when a big shop closes, footfall falls across the local high street, which puts more shops at risk of closing.
Retail parks are increasingly popular with shoppers, who want to be able to get easy, free parking at a time when local councils have hiked parking charges in towns.
Many retailers including Next and Marks & Spencer have been shutting stores on the high street and taking bigger stores in better-performing retail parks instead.
Boss Stuart Machin recently said that when it relocated a tired store in Chesterfield to a new big store in a retail park half a mile away, its sales in the area rose by 103 per cent.
In some cases, stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Wilko, Debenhams Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Paperchase to name a few.
What’s increasingly common is when a chain goes bust a rival retailer or private equity firm snaps up the intellectual property rights so they can own the brand and sell it online.
They may go on to open a handful of stores if there is customer demand, but there are rarely ever as many stores or in the same places.