French cosmetics giant L’Oréal has completed the sale of The Body Shop to Brazilian beauty company Natura Cosmeticos following approval by regulatory authorities.
The agreement for the sale was in line with the terms laid out on 9 June, which valued The Body Shop at €1bn.
We’re proud of everything that we achieved alongside L’Oréal. Now we are about to start an exciting new chapter with @naturanet. pic.twitter.com/GzvUkhfLHF
— The Body Shop UK (@TheBodyShopUK) 8 September 2017
L’Oréal put The Body Shop up for sale in February following sluggish sales at the brand, saying that it wanted to give the business the “best opportunities and full ability to continue its development”.
The Body Shop’s operating profits plunged 38% to €34mln in the year to 31 December 2016 as sales dropped nearly 5% to €921mln. In the key Christmas trading period, the sales decline steepened to 6.3%.
The founder of The Body Shop, Dame Anita Roddick, sold the business to L’Oréal for £652mln in 2006, which was seen as a betrayal by some consumers of the brand that was once viewed as a trendy eco-friendly label.
The Body Shop has more than 3,000 outlets across 66 countries, including 133 in Brazil.
The combination of Natura, Brazil’s largest cosmetics company, and The Body Shop will include about 3,200 stores worldwide and have net sales of about R$11.5bn.
