- China says will issue special bonds to boost ailing economy
- China offers $325 bn in fiscal stimulus for ailing economy
- Dodgers drop Padres 2-0 to advance in MLB playoffs
- Alexei Navalny wrote he knew he would die in prison in new memoir
- Last-minute legal ruling allows betting on US election
- Despite hurricanes, Floridians refuse to leave 'paradise'
- Israel observes Yom Kippur amid firestorm over Lebanon strikes
- Trump demonizes migrants in dark, misleading speech
- X says 'alert' to manipulation efforts after pro-Russia bots report
- US, European markets rise before Boeing unveils sweeping job cuts
- Small Quebec company dominates one part of NHL hockey: jerseys
- Comoros shock Tunisia, Salah, Mbeumo strike in AFCON qualifiers
- Boeing to cut 10% of workforce as it sees big Q3 loss
- Germany win in Nations League as 10-man Dutch rescue point
- Undav brace sends Germany to victory against Bosnia
- Israel says fired at 'threat' near UN position in Lebanon
- Want to film in Paris? No sexism allowed
- Ecuador's last mountain iceman dies at 80
- Milton leaves at least 16 dead, millions without power in Florida
- Senegal set to announce breakaway development agenda: PM
- UN says 2 peacekeepers wounded in south Lebanon explosions
- Injury-hit Australia thrash 'embarrassing' Pakistan at Women's T20 World Cup
- Internal TikTok documents show prioritization of traffic over well-being
- Israel says fired at 'immediate threat' near UN position in Lebanon
- New US coach Pochettino hails Pulisic but worries over workload
- Brazil orders closure of 2,000 betting sites
- UK govt urged to raise pro-democracy tycoon's case with China
- Sculptor Lalanne's animal creations sell for $59 mn
- From Tesla to Trump: Behind Musk's giant leap into politics
- US, European markets rise as investors weigh rates, earnings
- In Colombia, children trade plastic waste for school supplies
- Supercharged hurricanes trigger 'perfect storm' for disinformation
- JPMorgan Chase profits top estimates, bank sees 'resilient' US economy
- Djokovic proves staying power as he progresses to Shanghai semi-finals
- Sheffield Utd boss Wilder 'numb' after Baldock death
- Little progress at key meet ahead of COP29 climate summit
- Fans immerse themselves in Marina Abramovic's first China exhibition
- Israel says conducting review after UN peacekeepers wounded in Lebanon
- 'Party atmosphere': Skygazers treated to another aurora show
- Djokovic 'overwhelmed' after 'greatest rival' Nadal's retirement
- Zelensky in Berlin says hopes war with Russia will end next year
- Kyrgyzstan opens rare probe into glacier destruction
- European Mediterranean states discuss Middle East, migration
- Djokovic proves staying power as progresses to Shanghai semi-finals
- Hurricane Milton leaves at least 16 dead as Florida cleans up
- Britain face 'ultimate challenge' in America's Cup duel with New Zealand
- Lebanon calls for 'immediate' ceasefire in Israel-Hezbollah war
- Nihon Hidankyo: Japan's A-bomb survivors awarded Nobel
- Thunberg leads pro-Palestinian, climate protest in Milan
- Boat captain rescued clinging to cooler in Gulf of Mexico after storm Milton
The Body Shop to shut nearly half of UK shops
The UK arm of The Body Shop cosmetics group will shut nearly half its 198 outlets, adminstrators brought in to save parts of the distressed company said Tuesday.
The near 50-year-old business renowned for ethical hair and skin products will immediately close seven stores, including four in London, administrators FRP Advisory said in a statement.
The Body Shop employs about 1,500 people across its UK stores but the administrators did not specify how many positions would be lost.
They added, however, that about 270 roles would disappear from its London head office, or some 40 percent of the workforce there.
The Body Shop last week appointed FRP to try and keep the business running, just a few months after it was bought by Aurelius.
The German private equity firm has already offloaded the cosmetic group's operations in most of mainland Europe and in parts of Asia.
"After years of unprofitability and following a full evaluation of The Body Shop's UK business,... administrators have concluded that the current store portfolio mix is no longer viable," Tuesday's statement said.
It added that "a reduced store footprint, will coincide with a renewed focus on the brand's products, online sales channels and wholesale strategies,... supporting a return to financial stability".
Founded in 1976 by Anita Roddick, the group was later owned also by French cosmetics giant L'Oreal and then Brazil's Natura Cosmeticos, prior to its recent sale.
Roddick, who died in 2007 from a brain haemorrhage, rapidly expanded the business from modest beginnings with a determination to offer products that had not been tested on animals.
She set out to make her business also environmentally-friendly, with customers encouraged to return empty containers for refilling at the original shop in Brighton, on England's south coast.
P.Mathewson--AMWN