The Body Shop's Kingston store is to remain open despite 75 closures across the UK.

The joint administrators of The Body Shop International Limited, Tony Wright, Geoff Rowley, and Alastair Massey, have confirmed today (29 February) that the Kingston branch is amongst 116 locations that will continue to operate.

Many neighbouring stores are set to close, such as:

• Battersea
• Brixton
• Croydon
• Epsom 
• Woking

Hounslow Treaty Centre, Sutton, and Wimbledon locations will also stay open.

This comes after an announcement from the joint administrators on 20 February of seven store closures.

In a statement, the joint administrators told Nub News: "As previously indicated, a reduced store footprint will coincide with a renewed focus on the brand's products, online sales channels and wholesale strategies, bringing the brand in line with industry peers and supporting a return to financial stability."

Tony Wright, joint administrator, said: "In taking swift action to right-size The Body Shop UK store portfolio, we have stabilised the business and are providing the best opportunity for this iconic brand to have a long-term, sustainable future.

He added: "The UK business continues to trade in administration, and we remain fully focused on exploring all options to take the business forward." 

These store closures mean that 489 staff across the country will be made redundant as stores close over the next four to six weeks.

The Joint Administrators will support all impacted staff with claims to the Redundancy Payments Service.

The Body Shop's recent financial troubles are part of a larger decline in the retail sector.

Research by the Liberal Democrats has found that 27,270 more businesses closed than opened across 2023.

The figures, taken from ONS statistics, showed that 335,750 businesses closed their doors across the UK last year, with 4,695 of these being shops.