The Body Shop: 'It simply didn’t keep up with the times'

Almost half of its UK stores are to be closed as part of a heavy restructure of the formerly trail-blazing brand. Established by the late, great environmental rights campaigner Anita Roddick and her husband, its products were fairtrade and cruelty free, and customers were encouraged to refill their empties, long before such principles were in demand.

I can’t speak for the business decisions taken about The Body Shop over the years, but as part of the generation who was brought up on its products – hello, white musk fragrance and dewberry body lotion – I am deeply saddened by its demise.

Charlene Sweeney - can The Body Shop re-emerge from the ashes? (Image: BIG Partnership)

I can actually remember visiting the first branch of the Body Shop while on a holiday to Brighton in 1982. The heady scent and intriguing vials alone were enough to convince me to part with most of my spending money (the rest went on lace fingerless gloves purchased from Brighton’s iconic lanes, but the less said about that the better.)

As part of the generation who was brought up on its products – hello, white musk fragrance and dewberry body lotion – I am deeply saddened by its demise.

Over the years, the brand grew to be a stalwart of the High Street, its lotions and potions synonymous with wellbeing and body positivity, while being ethically sourced. It seemed like a win-win combination.

Following a flotation on the stock market in 2001, then its sale five years later, it was already clear that the business was losing its way. Anita Roddick, who had been an inspiration for the young women that consumed her products, was no longer at the helm and the sense of female empowerment that underpinned the brand was seriously diminished.

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Competitors such as Lush, which offers a much more immersive retail experience, full of fun products, including the recent Saltburn movie-inspired Saltbomb, launched with a suitably saucy photoshoot, began to take over while the feelgood fairtrade ethos behind The Body Shop became less and less significant to its brand identity – leaving the path clear for others to move in. Little wonder than consumers became confused about what it stands for. It simply didn’t keep up with the times.

The Body Shop's much loved products (Image: PA)

Can The Body Shop re-emerge from the ashes? Time will tell but if it is to survive in any form, a brand refresh is seriously in need. With Tik Tok and its Gen Alpha followers who don’t hesitate to splash out on premium, fast-moving beauty trends – hashtag Tik Tok made me do it – driving sales in the category, The Body Shop needs to work out how to become relevant again. Nostalgia alone won’t save it, as Topshop and other retailers hailing from the same era have already found.

Charlene Sweeney is the Media relations director, for BIG Partnership