Health and beauty chain Bodycare has confirmed it will shut 32 of its UK stores with immediate effect, leaving 450 staff out of work. The retailer, long known for selling low-cost toiletries and cosmetics stacked high on floor-to-ceiling shelves, has collapsed into administration after struggling with rising rents, higher staffing costs and weaker sales. Administrators said most of Bodycare’s 147 shops would continue trading while attempts are made to find a buyer, but the closures mark another heavy blow to Britain’s high streets.
Stores Closing Immediately
The closures affect towns and cities across England, Scotland and Wales. The stores shutting are:
Beverley, Cameron Toll (Edinburgh), Cannock, Clydebank, Cramlington, Croydon, Darwen, Dumfries, Edinburgh, Erdington, Falkirk, Hemel Hempstead, Kirkcaldy, Loughborough, Lytham St Annes, Macclesfield, Maidstone, Morecambe, Newport, Northfield, Paisley, Parkhead (Glasgow), Perth, Port Talbot, Rhyl, Royton, Scunthorpe, Stourbridge, Tamworth, West Bromwich, Wood Green (London), and Wrexham.
These branches will not reopen, with staff informed of the decision as administrators moved to cut costs and stabilise the business.
Pressures on the High Street
Bodycare employs around 1,500 people, but rising operating costs and falling footfall left it unable to cover its bills. Joint administrator Nick Holloway of Interpath Advisory said the chain had been hit by “a significant funding gap and increasing creditor pressure” on top of already challenging conditions.
“These remain tough times for retailers,” he said. “Rising costs and reduced consumer spending continue to weigh heavily on trading. Unfortunately, for Bodycare, these challenges proved too difficult to overcome.”
The closures come after a series of high street struggles. Claire’s, the accessories chain, only recently secured a buyer after its US parent filed for bankruptcy, while Poundland narrowly avoided collapse earlier this summer.
What Happens Next
While 32 shops are shutting, administrators stressed that the majority of Bodycare outlets will keep trading while “all options” are explored, including the sale of the business. Whether a buyer can be found will determine the future of a chain that, for decades, offered affordable beauty and household products to shoppers across the UK.
Bodycare’s collapse adds to the growing list of high street retailers forced into drastic measures by soaring costs and changing shopping habits. For customers, it means fewer stores to turn to for budget toiletries and cosmetics. For hundreds of staff, it means sudden job losses at a time when many towns are already struggling with shuttered shopfronts. The closures underline just how difficult survival has become for mid-sized retailers in today’s retail climate.
