The retailer, which sells beauty products, fragrances and bathroom items, has confirmed around 450 of its 1,500‑strong workforce will be made redundant as a result of the closures. Four stores in Wales are affected — in Port Talbot, Newport, Rhyl and Wrexham.
Founded in 1970 in Lancashire, Bodycare said it had been hit by rising costs, delays in moving to a new online retail platform, and cost‑of‑living pressures on shoppers. The company also cited a funding shortfall after abandoning a planned stock market listing last year, which it said damaged supplier relationships and led to stock shortages.
Administrators from advisory firm Interpath have been appointed and are exploring a potential rescue sale of the business and its assets. The majority of Bodycare’s 147 UK stores will continue trading for now.
Nick Holloway, joint administrator and managing director at Interpath, said:
“These remain challenging times for high street retailers as rising costs and reduced consumer spending continue to weigh heavily on trading. Unfortunately for Bodycare, which was also contending with a significant funding gap and increasing creditor pressure, these challenges proved too difficult to overcome.”
He added that support would be provided to staff affected by redundancy, including help with claims to the redundancy payments service.
