Full list of 30 Bodycare stores closing down after beauty brand goes into administration

More closures of high street health and beauty retailer Bodycare have been announced after the chain fell into administration.

While some shops have already closed in recent weeks, the brand said another 30 of its nearly 150 stores will shut permanently.

The latest closures will leave the chain with 85 remaining shops.

Around 685 employees have lost their jobs so far with the future of the remaining 1,000 staff being uncertain.

When loading the Bodycare website, a ‘closed’ sign appears with the notice: ‘SORRY, THE SHOP YOU ARE LOOKING IS CLOSED RIGHT NOW, PLEASE TRY AGAIN LATER.’

Bodycare was founded on a Lancashire market stall more than half a century ago by Graham and Margaret Blackledge.

Administrators said that the chain has ‘faced a number of challenges in recent years which have negatively impacted its financial position’.

Interpath said: ‘This included rising costs, including rent and people costs, a delayed transition to its online retail platform, and the cost-of-living crisis impacting its customer base.’

Nick Holloway, managing director at Interpath and joint administrator, said: ‘We’d like to express our sincere thanks to the hundreds of dedicated Bodycare staff who have shown such professionalism since our appointment.

‘We will continue to trade the remaining 85 stores while we remain in discussions with interested parties with the aim of preserving as much of the business as possible.’

Bodycare isn’t alone – 13,479 stores, about 37 each day, permanently closed last year, according to the Centre for Retail Research.

Poundland, Hobbycraft and River Island have been among the hardest hit retailers this year, announcing dozens of closures.

A further 132,945 local high street shops are expected to disappear over the next 15 years.

‘The high street isn’t dead yet’

With boarded windows and shuttered stores becoming a common sight in Britain, the high street isn’t what it once was, experts told Metro.

Professor of marketing at Henley Business School, Professor Adrian Palmer, said discount stores like Bodycare need to rake in the money to get by.

‘Margins have been squeezed by higher costs, most recently minimum wage and National Insurance increases,’ he told Metro.

‘Bodycare also suffered because it was strongly orientated towards traditional High Streets rather than out-of-town retail parks.

‘Like most discount retailers, it didn’t have sufficient margin to have a competitive online offer. In the online market space, the efficiency and cost base of Temu poses a further challenge to Bodycare.’

Professor Palmer added that the high street is trapped in a ‘vicious circle’ of stores opening and shuttering, and those enduring tend to have higher-end stores, rather than discount outlets.

Vix Leyton, consumer expert at thinkmoney, told Metro that the high street can survive if it offers more than what users can simply click an ‘add to basket’ button for.

Superdrug, for example, is now offering some beauty and health services in-store.

Leyton said: ‘We’re seeing a steady retreat of once-beloved names like Claire’s Accessories from the high street, and that stings because those shops weren’t just places to buy things, they were part of growing up.

‘HMV’s comeback shows there is still a future for our favourites, but only for brands willing to move with the times. They moved away from relying on CDs and DVDs and leaned into pop culture, collectibles and in-store events.

‘The high street isn’t dead yet, but nostalgia won’t keep the lights on.’

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