res in Canada following a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing. Several retail experts, including GlobalData’s MD Neil Saunders, agreed that the once-leading beauty brand had fallen behind due to poor financial management and a failure to keep up with changing consumer behaviour and retail models. “The primary problem with Body Shop is the proposition and brand not being compelling enough for consumers. This meant that sales online and in stores suffered equally,” he explained. However, retail experts like Marie Driscoll, a chartered financial analyst and a professor at Parsons, The New School and the Fashion Institute of Technology, argued that The Body Shop shouldn’t be considered out for the count just yet.  “The Body Shop brand can make a comeback,” Driscoll said. “Its original raison d’être still resonates with beauty shoppers seeking brands with environmental, ethical and social values, while its heritage is a plus.” On October 7, The Body Shop signalled a major attempt to have a comeback, at least digitally, in the American retail scene with its Amazon debut.  The Body Shop’s return to the US retail market  Since exiting the US retail scene, The Body Shop has undergone its fair share of changes.  In July 2024, Mike Jatania succeeded Charles Denton as The Body Shop’s chief executive officer. Jatania is a veteran retail executive and founding partner of Auréa, a specialist private equity firm focused on the beauty and wellness sector.  In the same month, Auréa entered into an exclusive acquisition agreement with The Body Shop, with the deal officially finalised on September 4, 2024.  Before Auréa, the company was owned briefly by the private equity firm Aurelius, which acquired it from Natura & Co. in 2023. In a public statement, Jatania said that he and the Auréa team have been focused on “rebuilding and renewing” The Body Shop’s image and retail operations.  “We’ve stabilised operations, streamlined our focus and reenergised our teams around what makes this brand truly special: our commitment to ethical, high-quality products and positive impact,” he said.  For the time being, Jatania explained that he plans to focus on boosting the brand’s digital presence before considering returning to the US with brick-and-mortar stores.  “Beyond Amazon and our own dot-com, we’re strategically considering our options for broader US distribution. We aim to build an owned digital ecosystem that combines DTC and marketplaces into a tailored customer experience reflecting the brand’s mission and heritage.” While Jatania acknowledged that the market has only become more competitive, he stands firm in the company’s chances to win back the attention of US consumers. The brand’s focus on cruelty-free products and inclusivity, he argues, gives it a “unique and enduring” advantage.  Can The Body Shop bounce back? Despite Jatania’s clear optimism to bring the brand back on track, several retail strategists expressed their ambivalence about The Body Shop’s current points of differentiation. As Driscoll told Inside Retail, “Relying on its heritage as a pioneer in green and cruelty-free beauty isn’t the differentiator that it once was.” She explained that since The Body Shop first entered the market in 1976, the beauty industry has become far more crowded. It now requires a hefty amount of marketing and influencers, not to mention great products and services, to stand out.  “The brand still has value in terms of recognition, but it will have to prove itself one consumer at a time.” Even though Driscoll said that Auréa is a strategic investor with the relevant experience and connections to drive The Body Shop’s updated strategy, she doesn’t expect overnight success and anticipates a slow build.  “Over the intermediate term, adding new channels will support building brand awareness with a generation that has never heard of The Body Shop,” she added.   Similar to Driscoll, Christine Russo, the principal of Retail Creative and Consulting Agency (RCCA), added that The Body Shop is coming back to a “changed ecosystem” and one that will be much harder to compete in. “In developing a strategy for a successful US comeback, the announcement of the e-commerce shop and Amazon marketplace placement should be secondary to this: telling a crystal clear story about who and what the brand is today,” said Russo.  For older customers who grew up with the brand, The Body Shop will need to work hard to make them forget the brand’s shortcomings, such as its commitment to “clean” ingredients and other past retail faux pas.  On a more optimistic note, Russo pointed out that since younger shoppers aren’t familiar with the brand, there is open space to create a fresh, more positive narrative.  In short, The Body Shop needs to ask itself the hard questions, like “Who are we?” and “Who do we align with?”, before it can properly figure out the most compelling social strategy to reach maximum sales.