The Canadian subsidiary of the global beauty brand has filed for bankruptcy and announced on Friday March 1, 2024, that it will immediately begin closing almost a third of its 105 stores in the country. The company also ceased online sales via its ecommerce store.

The Body Shop Canada has commenced restructuring proceedings under Canada’s Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. Restructuring and turnaround management firm Alvarez & Marsal Canada Inc. was appointed as the Proposal Trustee. The company said it hopes Ontario court proceedings will give it “additional breathing room” while it evaluates its strategic alternatives and implements certain restructuring initiatives.

The following 33 stores are expected to close in the near term: Bayview Village (Toronto); Lawson Heights (Saskatoon); Rideau Centre (Ottawa); Carlingwood Mall (Ottawa); Lloyd Mall (Lloydminster); Semiahmoo (White Rock); Cataraqui Town Centre (Kingston); Londonderry Mall (Edmonton); Shoppers Mall (Brandon); Champlain Place (Dieppe); Lynden Park Mall (Brantford); Stone Road Mall (Guelph); Corner Brook Plaza (Corner Brook); Mayflower Mall (Sydney); Sunridge Mall (Calgary); Cornwall Centre (Regina); McAllister Place (Saint John); The Centre (Saskatoon); Dufferin Mall (Toronto); Medicine Hat Mall (Medicine Hat); The Shops at Don Mills (Toronto); Fairview Park Mall (Kitchener); Midtown Plaza (Saskatoon); Timmins Square (Timmins); Hillside Shopping Centre (Victoria); Park Place (Lethbridge); Toronto Pearson Term. 1 (Toronto); Lambton Mall (Sarnia); Place d’Orleans (Orleans); Truro Mall (Truro); Lansdowne Place (Peterborough); Queen Street East (Toronto); Village Green (Vernon).

The Body Shop Canada also said the brand’s US branch has ceased operations.

The move comes on the heels of the commencement of administration proceedings in the United Kingdom by the parent company after its acquisition by Aurelius Group in December 2023.

Once a pioneering beauty brand known for its ethical products, The Body Shop has suddenly collapsed after damp revenues during the last festive period. The subsidiaries in Belgium and The Netherlands also filed for bankruptcy last week while the British firm in charge of restructuring the mother company in the UK has announced it is closing almost half of the brand’s stores in the country.