LONDON (ANP/RTR/AFP) – British clothing retailer Next has approached the administrators of the ailing UK branch of The Body Shop about a possible deal to take over part of the cosmetics chain. This is what the British news channel Sky News revealed based on insiders. The Body Shop, known for its eco-friendly hair and skin products, announced on February 14 that it is hiring a financial expert. They will try to save some of the British branch companies.
It remains unclear how many of The Body Shop’s two hundred UK stores Next wants to retain. Earlier this week, The Body Shop announced it was closing almost half of its stores in the UK. It’s not yet clear how many of the 1,500 jobs at those stores will be lost. It was announced that 40 percent of staff at the head office in London would lose their jobs. This involves approximately 270 jobs.
In total, The Body Shop has approximately 3,000 stores in more than seventy countries. The company also experienced problems in Germany. The chain has 27 branches in the Netherlands, with around 150 employees, which will remain open, a spokesperson for the chain told RTL News. For more detailed comment, he referred to the group’s UK spokesperson, who, according to RTL, also did not respond to questions.
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