Dark clouds are gathering over the Belgian The Body Shop branch: following insolvency procedures in Germany and the United Kingdom, the chain is now also keeping (some of?) its Belgian online and offline stores closed. Amongst rumours that receivers are being appointed, nobody seems to have a clear view on what is actually happening.

In the dark

Insolvency proceedings would be starting in Belgium too, as employees have been told that receivers will soon be appointed, British newspaper The Guardian reports. Moreover, the branches in Austria, Ireland and Luxembourg would also soon start bankruptcy filings.

However, there is still no official confirmation or clarity, and the news only raises more questions. Belgium and the Netherlands are in fact part of the French branch, which had said before the weekend being that it was left completely in the dark itself: all contact with the British parent company has been severed.

Overestimated

According to persistent rumours, Alma24 (which takes over most of The Body Shop’s European operations) would not be willing to acquire the French operations – reportedly due to the country’s rigid labour laws. The subsidiaries in the Low Countries – with different legal systems but under the same umbrella – remain in the dark. It is, however, not a good sign that the Belgian, Dutch and French web shops in Belgium have been taken offline, allegedly for planned improvements. Customers were also faced with a closed door in stores like the one on the Meir in Antwerp.

Meanwhile, it is becoming clear that investor Aurelius, which acquired The Body Shop in November for 240 million euros, has considerably overestimated the acquisition’s value. Managing director Peter Wood wanted to restore the cosmetics chain to its former glory, but has now stepped down himself. The Body Shop is said to be in much worse shape financially than estimated beforehand, making Aurelius itself now one of the chain’s biggest creditors. Also in the line of creditors are fair trade producers, who have nearly a billion euros’ worth of ingredients ready to go but may never get to deliver them again.