The Body Shop sends a heartfelt message to shoppers after the chain collapses

THE Body Shop has sent a heartfelt message to all their loyal customers after the chain went bankrupt.

This tragic news has left 200 stores in the UK at risk of closure and thousands of shoppers rushing to stock up on their favorite products from the cosmetics and skincare chain.

The Body Shop released a statement saying: “Hello, you may have heard in the news that The Body Shop has gone into administration in the UK.

“We want to let you know that we are open as usual and that all our customers can continue to buy their favorite products.

“And… thank you for the outpouring of love we heard, it means a lot.”

The owners of the retailer, Aurelius, have appointed administrators at FRP Advisory, casting doubt over the future of the iconic high street brand.

FRP said the move to place the retailer into administration “provides the stability, flexibility and security to find the best way to secure the future of the chain”.

They said: “The joint administrators will now consider all options to find a way forward for the company and will notify creditors and employees in due course.”

The Body Shop employs 2,000 people in the UK across hundreds of popular stores.

We have a full list of The Body Shop stores at risk of closure.

The Body Shop will continue to trade, with stores and the online site remaining open and generating sales.

One upset shopper wrote on social media after hearing the news: “I'm gutted because I use their products! I need to stock up!”

Another said: “Best stock on our favourites!”

A third commented, tagging her friend: “Best stock on the grapefruit hand cream Debs!!!”

A fourth posted: “I think it's a shame to buy all my skincare there. Not expensive at all for the quality of the products.

The Body Shop was bought by private equity firm Aurelius from former owner Natura and Co in November in a deal worth £207m.

The cosmetics group said it wanted to shift its focus from the UK market to South America.

New owners Aurelius, a private equity group that also owns Lloyds Pharmacy and Footasylum, also confirmed that it sold the majority of The Body Shop's operations in mainland Europe and parts of Asia last month.

The administration of the company's UK arm comes just weeks after the Body Shop at Home service was discontinued in Britain Australia after 30 years.

The Avon-style business allows individual advisors to sell products to customers from the comfort of their home.

Thousands of advisors currently use the Body Shop at Home service, but it will close permanently on February 23.

The Body Shop was founded in 1976 by Anita Roddick and her husband Gordon in Brighton.

Complete list of closures

BELOW is a full list of The Body Shop stores in the UK at risk of closure:

374 Oxford Street, London
66 Oxford Street, London
Ashford
Ashford exhaust
Aylesbury
Banbury
Barnstaple
Basildon
Basilton
Basingstoke
Bath
Battersea
Bedford
Beverley
Bexleyheath
Birmingham Arena
Birmingham New Street
Blackburn
Blackpool
Blue water
Bluewater, Greenhithe
Bolton Marketplace
Bournemouth Commercial Road
Bracknell Lexicon
Bradford Broadway
Braintree exhaust
Brent Cross Shopping Centre
Bridgend Out
Brighton
Bristol Cabot Circus
Bristol Queens Road
Brixton
Broughton Park
To bury
Bury St. Edmunds
Caledonia Park Outlet
Camarthen
Camberley
Cambridge
Cambridge station
Cannock exhaust
Cardiff St David's
Carlisle
Carmarthen
Castleford Outlet
Chelmsford
Cheltenham
Cheshire Oaks Outlet
Chester Foregate Street
Chesterfield
Chichester
Chippenham
Cirencester
Clarks Village outlet, Somerset
Colchester
Commercial Arcade, St Peter Port, Gurnsey
Coventry
Crawley County Shopping Center
Cribbs Causeway
Dalton Park Outlet, Seaham
Derby Intu
Didcot
Doncaster Lakeside Outlet
Dudley
Dundee
Dunfermline
Durham
Ealing
East Kilbride
East Midlands outlet
Oostbourne
Edinburgh Gyle
Edinburgh St James Quarter
Edinburgh Waverley Market
Enfield
Epsom
Exeter
Fareham
Farnborough
Fleetwood Outlet
Foyleside, Derry
Glasgow Braehead
The Glasgow Fort
Glasgow Silverburn
Glasgow St Enoch
Glasgow station
Gloucester
Grimsby
Guildford-Hoofdstraat
Gunwharf Outlet, Portsmouth
Halifax
Harlow
Harrogate
Eg
Hastings
Hatfield Outlet
Hempstead Valley
Commercial Street Hereford
High Wycombe
Horsham
Hounslow Convention Centre
Hove
Huddersfield
Hull
Ilford
Isle of Wight
Islington
Kendal
Kings Lynn
Kings Street, St Helier, Jersey
Kingston Upon Thames
Lancaster
Leamington Spa
Leeds Bridge
Leeds White Rose
Leicester High Cross
Lichfield
Lincoln Waterfront
Liverpool One
Liverpool Street station
Livingston exhaust
London bridge
Loughborough
Luton
Macclesfield
Virgo Stone
ManchesterArndale
Manchester Royal Exchange
Meadowhall-Hoofdstraat
MediaCity UK, Manchester
Middlesborough
Milton Keynes
Morpeth
Newcastle Eldon Square
Newton Abbott
Noordampton
Norwich
Nottingham Bridlesmith Gate
Nuneaton
Oldham
One New Change shopping centre, London
Oxford Westgate
Perth
Peterborough Queensgate
Little Curry, Cambridge
Platinum Shopping Centre, Gateshead
Plymouth
Pool
Portsmouth
Preson
Preston
Reading
Regent Street, London
Romford
Rushen Lakes
Sailsbury
Sheffield
Shrewsbury
Solihull
Southampton
Zuideinde
Spalding exhaust
Saint Albans
Stafford
Stains
Standstead airside
Stockport
Stratford-upon-Avon
Sunderland
Surrey Quays Shopping Centre
Sutton
Swansea
Swindon outlet
Talke Hanley Outlet, Stoke-on-rent
Taunton
Telford
Thurrock
Trafford Park
Trowbridge
Truro
Tunbridge Wells
Uxbridge Market Square
Victoria Square shopping centre, Belfast
Wakefield Trinity walk
Walthamstow
Warrington
Watford
Wembley outlet
Whiteley Village Shopping Centre, Fareham
Wigan
Wimbledon
Winchester
Windsor
Waking
Wolverhampton
Worchester
Worth
York Coppergate
York exhaust

How has Britain's high street been affected recently?

The Body Shop, like many other retail chains, has experienced financial difficulties in a challenging environment for shoppers.

Physical stores have been hit hard as shopping behavior increasingly focuses on online retail.

Numerous major brands have ended up under government control in the past twelve months. including major discounter Wilko.

But it has since returned to the high street under The Range's ownership, and Wilko brand items are stocked in The Range stores.

Both M&Co and Joules are among the well-known brands that went bankrupt in 2022.

Paperchase then fell into administration at the end of January last year and all 106 stores later closed for good.

Elsewhere, The Sun has put together a handy guide to all the retailers closing their stores in February, including Boots and Costa.