Bodycare has always been one of our favourites stores, one of those chains that had been (always) in the daily life of the British streets for decades. Well, until today. Yes, sorry but they have confirmed the closure of their last 56 stores in the country.
There have been months of rumors, failed attempts to find a buyer that would give new life to the stores, and shelves increasingly empty…. Nothing. The decision is now final, they close their doors forever and with that, 444 employees go straight to the British employment office. Another blow for the retail sector in the United Kingdom at a time that is already quite complicated.
Goodbye to a historic brand.
The joint administrator, Interpath Advisory, stated that efforts to save the company did not work, there were no viable buyers, costs kept growing and with the little stock they had in the stores it was impossible to stay afloat… Keeping the business open stopped being an option for them, so the next September 27 will be the day the shutter comes down forever…
For workers it has been quite a hard blow and now they will have to go through the Redundancy Payments Service, a resource that offers some aids to the unemployed people, but, let’s be honest, it does not compensate for the loss of a job nor its impact on those hundreds of families…
Crisis of British retail
The Bodycare case is not new, not even in the United Kingdom. It is part of a trend that has been around for a long time and on a global level, e-commerce is gaining a lot of ground, consumption habits are changing, young people no longer like to enter stores and prefer to buy everything online. In addition, inflation is pressing us all. Many historic brands on British streets have ended the same way. Bodycare is just the latest name to be added to this list.
Grateful, but goodbye
Nick Holloway, director of Interpath, thanked the staff for the effort they kept until the end. According to him, the quality of the service and customer care did not suffer even in the middle of the storm.
What do customers lose?
It was a classic, but Bodycare was synonymous of health and beauty products with prices accessible to all pockets. It was present on main streets and was part of the routine of many people. Its departure leaves a gap that, in practice, will be filled by large international chains and online commerce. Another link of nearby shopping, of trust, disappears.
The future of the sector
The fall of Bodycare is another sign of where retail in the United Kingdom (and global retail) is going. You have to adapt to the digital era, whoever does not combine physical stores with a good online presence is doomed to lose the fight, new ways must be found to reach the buyer and all of them go through the web.
Each closure leaves streets with more empty premises and erases brands that accompanied many generations. Bodycare was not just a business, it was also part of the daily landscape of our cities and it will not be there anymore… It is sad to think that.
56 stores say goodbye, but it is not just that. The world is changing, buyers too and the global economy is hitting long-standing companies. As we say, adapt or die, the digital era is here and we have to get used to it because there are no other possible paths. Even if the streets of our cities begin to look emptier.