Bodycare to shut remaining stores with loss of 444 jobs

All remaining Bodycare stores are to close with the loss of 444 jobs after the health and beauty chain's administrators failed to find a buyer for the shops.

The business, which fell into administration earlier this month, was "no longer viable to continue" trading because of "the shortage of stock and significant costs" associated with operating the stores, its administrators said.

As a result, the chain's remaining 56 stores will shut, with all closures expected to take place by Saturday.

A spokesperson for the administrators said the company would "continue to provide all support to those impacted".

The joint administrators had been talking to "a number of parties who have expressed interest in the business, including interest in the Bodycare brand", the spokesperson said.

"While these discussions remain ongoing, it is with regret that the administrators confirm that a sale of the stores is now unlikely."

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

More than 1,000 people have lost their jobs since the retailer collapsed on 5 September.

Bodycare was founded in Lancashire in 1970. Its store layouts were known for their bright lighting and window displays that often feature piles of toilet tissue or pyramids of washing up powder.

It also offered warehouse-style display shelves packed with goods such as lip balm, perfume, false nails and foot cream.

Catherine Shuttleworth, chief executive of marketing agency Savvy, said Bodycare faced "extremely strong competition" in the health and beauty sector from retailers such as Boots and Superdrug, as well as supermarkets and the growing volume of online sellers on social media.

"The reality is shoppers can seek value in this sector everywhere," she said.

Retail analyst Jonathan De Mello said: "Bodycare's low margin value proposition meant it was reliant on shopper volumes, which have been declining for them given some of the more challenged locations they traded in, and the proliferation of health and beauty competition over the years."

He said the brand had failed to engage with customers, compounding its demise.

Clive Black, head of consumer research and vice chair of Shore Capital, attributed Bodycare's downfall to "a management team who cannot cope with an evolving market, stronger competition and rising costs".

"One's heart has to go out to the good people at Bodycare who are losing their jobs, the suppliers missing payments, and the landlords losing rent. That is the vicious circle of business failure."

Bodycare's collapse follows troubles at other well-known retailers.

Last month, fashion chain River Island said it would close 33 stores as part of a restructuring after struggling with high costs and multi-million pound losses.

However, Poundland recently avoided falling into administration after its turnaround plan was approved days before the chain was due to run out of money.

The remaining stores closing by Saturday are:

• Ashton-Under-Lyne

• Banbury

• Barnsley

• Barrow

• Bedford

• Blackburn

• Blackpool

• Braehead

• Bridgnorth

• Burnley

• Bury

• Chorley

• Clitheroe

• Darlington

• Derby

• Dundee

• Halifax

• Hereford

• Hinckley

• Irvine

• Keighley

• Kendal

• Kings Heath

• Lancaster

• Leeds

• Leicester

• Leigh

• Liverpool

• Livingston

• Luton

• Manchester

• Merry Hill

• Metro Centre

• Middlesborough

• Mold Washington

• Newcastle

• Nuneaton

• Oldham

• Pontefract

• Poulton

• Preston

• Rugby

• Sheffield

• Solihull

• Sunderland

• Sutton Coldfield

• Swindon

• Telford

• Thurrock

• Trowbridge

• Wakefield

• Walthamstow

• Warrington

• Wellingborough

• Wolverhampton