An earlier Body Shop, unaffiliated with
Anita Roddick or the Body Shop International Limited, was opened in Berkeley, California, in 1970, by Peggy Short and Jane Saunders. Roddick opened her own health and beauty store, named the Body Shop, in her hometown of
Brighton, UK, in 1976. Her motivation was to "make a living for herself and her two daughters while her husband was away travelling". The business's original vision was to sell products with ethically sourced,
cruelty-free, and natural ingredients. None of Roddick's products were tested on animals, and the ingredients were sourced directly from producers. The store began trading with just 25 products. Roddick had purchased urine-sample bottles from a nearby hospital to sell her products in but did not have enough of them, creating the business's refillable bottles policy. Labels were handwritten, and Roddick did not advertise explicitly, using the local press instead. In the late 1970s, Roddick's partner, Gordon, returned to Brighton from America and suggested the business foster growth through franchising. By 1984, the company had 138 stores, 87 of which were outside the UK. By 1994, 89% of the business's locations were franchises. it closed in 2018. In 1991, the Body Shop sued
Bath & Body Works for allegedly copying its marketing, reaching a confidential
out-of-court settlement. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the company joined a number of campaigns related to social responsibility and environmental issues. These included a "Trade Not Aid" campaign in 1987, wherein the company sourced some of its ingredients directly from the native communities they originated from. The company also made alliances with
Greenpeace and
Amnesty International. Entine reported that Anita Roddick had copied the name, store design, marketing concept, and most product line ideas from the earlier American Body Shop. The takeover caused some media controversy, particularly surrounding L'Oréal's use of animal testing. Although L'Oréal itself ceased animal testing in 1989, the company had begun selling its products in China in 1997, where the law required cosmetics to be tested on animals before sale to the public. Roddick stated that she believed the takeover could allow her to be a "Trojan Horse" within the larger company, working through the Body Shop to improve its standards on animal testing and environmental issues. In September 2007, Roddick died following a major
brain haemorrhage. In 2017, L'Oréal sold the Body Shop to Brazilian cosmetics company
Natura for £880 million (€1 billion). The Body Shop received its
B-Corp certification in 2019.
Aurelius takeover and Auréa Group In November 2023, Natura sold the Body Shop to
Aurelius, a German private equity group, for £207 million ($254.32 million). The deal came as part of Natura's
downsizing strategy after its sale of Aesop to L'Oréal for $2.5 billion earlier in the year. At the time, it was suggested that Aurelius had "grabbed itself a bargain" and Aurelius predicted rapid growth for the company. However, following the sale, Aurelius experienced financial challenges and lapses during its due diligence, resulting in the departure of its managing director, who had spearheaded the deal. On 7 September 2024, the Body Shop's British business and all its trademarks were acquired by Auréa Group, a consortium led by Mike Jatania and Charles Denton, who became its executive chair and CEO, respectively.
Administration United Kingdom On 15 February 2024, Aurelius put the Body Shop's UK division into
administration and hired the business advisory firm
FRP Advisory as administrators to help the company through the procedure. This followed Aurelius' failure to secure a line of credit for the company after its takeover when
HSBC withdrew a prior line of credit negotiated under Natura's ownership. In administration, it was reported that the UK division owed over £276 million to creditors, of which about £143 million was owed to other parts of the group. After restructuring, 82 UK stores were closed and 489 jobs were lost, with a further 329 jobs axed at the company's head office. On 17 May 2024, FRP Advisory announced that the Body Shop's UK business and assets would be put up for auction after plans for a
company voluntary arrangement fell through.
European Union On 16 February 2024, just one day after the UK division went insolvent, the Body Shop Germany collapsed into administration and announced that all 60 stores were to be closed within the coming months. The same day, the Body Shop hired administrators for its Belgium, Ireland, Austria, Luxembourg, and France divisions, all of which were expected to be put into administration as early as the following week. On 29 February 2024, the Body Shop's Belgian and Danish divisions were placed under administration, and it was announced that all stores in both countries would close. All of the Body Shop's Irish stores were closed by the end of February. In November 2024, the Body Shop Netherlands filed for bankruptcy. As part of the shutdown, Alma24, a company controlled by Friedrich Trautwein, took control of the Body Shop's European entities along with those in Japan.
North America On 1 March 2024, the Body Shop Canada filed for creditor protection and announced that it would cease online operations and close 33 locations out of 105. On the same day, the Body Shop USA closed all of its stores and ceased operations online. On 10 March, the Body Shop USA filed for
Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation. While profitable, the North American businesses had paid funds into the UK head office under cash pooling, which made their funds inaccessible to pay creditors, including suppliers, following the collapse of the UK entity.
Oceania On 22 January 2025, Body Shop New Zealand was placed into voluntary administration. While the chain's 16 stores remained open, Body Shop NZ ceased to accept loyalty points and reduced the use of gift card funds. All New Zealand stores were closed by April 2025. The Body Shop returned to New Zealand under a franchise agreement in November 2025. ==International operations==