Beauty

The Body Shop: Can It Rise Again?

The Body Shop’s road to ruin was paved with many good intentions. But in the end, the brand that pioneered cruelty-free beauty fell victim to cruel fate and poor management decisions, under the ownership of founder Anita Roddick and her husband Gordon Roddick, L’Oréal, Natura and the German private equity firm Aurelius.

Over the past 18 years, the company has changed hands three times, and last month was placed into administration in the U.K., The Body Shop’s largest market, by its most recent owner, Aurelius, with hundreds of job losses and store closures.

All is not lost. Although worldwide the company is unwinding in different ways — it was placed under administration in the U.K., is closing operations in the U.S. and restructuring in Canada — the online business continues to operate as do some franchises and wholly owned stores in a variety of regions worldwide.

In today's WWD, European beauty editor Jennifer Weil and London bureau chief Samantha Conti look at what went wrong and if it can be salvaged.

Elsewhere, a look at if beauty could be the answer to mass retail's woes and La Mar names its first male ambassador.

Click through for complete coverage — Kathryn Hopkins, senior beauty editor, WWD and Beauty Inc.