The new owners of The Body Shop have said that the once flailing cosmetics retailer was “back for good” as it reportedly garnered a profit over its initial three months under new leadership.
The company was bought out of administration in September by an investor consortium led by Mike Jatania’s Aurea Group, which has since been leading the firm.
According to a note to staff seen by the Guardian, The Body Shop has now booked a profit of two million pounds in its first 100 days with Aurea, with sales sitting at 28 million pounds. This was partially derived from the 113 stores the company operates in the UK.
In the note, the company’s new chief executive, Charles Denton, told staff that he was thrilled at how The Body Shop was ending the year.
Denton said the chain had ended last week 17 percent ahead above internal sales forecasts, before adding “throw whatever you like at us, and we’ll come bouncing back… back for good and last month… back in profit, baby”.
The Body Shop fell into disarray shortly after its acquisition by German private equity firm Aurelius, which had snapped up the company for 207 million pounds. It was believed to have owed creditors more than 276 million pounds at the time.
The following months resulted in the widespread closures of stores across almost every continent in which the company was operating, with jobs losses reportedly amounting to 800.
