Retailer in Texas Has Filed for Bankruptcy, Closes All U.S. Stores

So many businesses are falling by the wayside in Texas and across the globe. That fate has fallen upon a high-end cosmetics company with a few stores in the Dallas, TX, area.

As of December 21st, 2023, there were 61 The Body Shop stores in the United States. The UK-based cosmetics company known for its high standards had opened 2,500 retail locations in more than 80 countries by the end of last year according to a report from CNN.

California had been the state with the most The Body Shop locations in the US was, with 14 stores. But now those, the three in Texas, and across the U.S. are shutdown.

In a news release earlier this month, the company announced that its no longer operational in the US, as of March 1. And that that 33 of its 105 stores in Canada will begin liquidation sales immediately. The release also clarified that “online sales via Canada’s ecommerce store will stop,” but it also noted that all Canadian locations will remain open for the time being.

The Body Shop, had built its brand on products that it markets as natural, sustainable, ethical and cruelty-free. According to CNN it was founded in 1976 in the UK by human rights activist and environmental campaigner Anita Roddick.

The company also took the lead early on becoming one of the "first companies to prohibit testing on animals for many of its products. In 2019 it was certified as a “B Corp,” a designation given to companies that meet certain transparency and environmental conscientiousness standards."

Late last year, The Body Shop was sold to asset management group Aurelius for about $266 million.