The Physique Store filed for chapter within the US and Canada following the collapse of its UK guardian firm.
Following the collapse of its UK guardian firm final month, The Physique Store faces vital challenges throughout its worldwide operations. Guardian reported that within the US, all 50 retailers have ceased buying and selling, resulting in the submitting for Chapter 7 chapter, endangering 400 jobs and placing tens of millions of {dollars} price of inventory in danger.
In Canada, 33 out of 105 shops have closed, leading to over 200 job losses. Filings in Canada disclose that the Physique Store there owed $3.3m (£1.9m) to landlords, logistics, suppliers, advertising and marketing companies, insurers, utilities and freight service suppliers when it entered insolvency on 1 March. Additional, the corporate introduced that it had misplaced entry to its e-commerce platform and the capability to fulfil orders for wholesale companions, reminiscent of Amazon, as a consequence of challenges in assembly provider funds.
This information comes simply six weeks after a German personal fairness agency, Aurelius, acquired The Physique Store in January 2024; the corporate’s UK arm collapsed in February, a transfer that places greater than 2,200 jobs in danger on the cosmetics chain.
In the meantime, the corporate’s divisions in Germany, Denmark, Eire, and Belgium have been positioned in insolvency after Aurelius offered them to Alma24, managed by Friedrich Trautwein, a identified affiliate with a historical past of restructuring troubled corporations. Consequently, shops outdoors of Germany have been closed. Nonetheless, the way forward for the corporate’s operations in Spain, Sweden, France and Austria is unclear amid wrangling over possession.
Moreover, Aurelius, the German firm that purchased The Physique Store for £207m in November, stated it had been unable to revive the fortunes of the enterprise after dismal buying and selling over Christmas and New 12 months.
These developments unfolded quickly following a change in possession, casting doubts on the model’s future trajectory and its adherence to the legacy of its founder, Anita Roddick. Time would be the final decide of whether or not The Physique Store can efficiently navigate these challenges and set up a sustainable enterprise mannequin.
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