Full list of 56 remaining Bodycare stores closing after beauty brand goes under

Every single branch of Bodycare will close after the chain fell into administration earlier this month.

Administrators said the high street health and beauty retailer is ‘no longer viable to continue’ due to a lack of stock and high costs.

Only a few weeks ago, Bodycare boasted nearly 150 stores.

But the company’s remaining 56 stores will close by Saturday, with around 1,200 people losing their jobs since September 5.

When loading the Bodycare website, a ‘closed’ sign appears with a lengthy notice about how the company is now under administration.

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’.

Nick Holloway, managing director at administrator Interpath, said they would ‘continue to explore options for the company’s assets, including the Bodycare brand, and will provide further updates in due course’.

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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