New York:

The Body Shop, a U.K.-based cosmetics company, has closed all of its U.S. operations after filing for bankruptcy and will soon close dozens of Canadian stores, CNN reported.

Earlier this month, The Body Shop announced in an official press release that its U.S. subsidiary would no longer be operating as of March 1.

The company further added that 33 of its 105 stores in Canada will begin liquidation sales immediately and “online sales through Canadian e-commerce stores will cease,” but all Canadian stores will remain open for the time being, CNN reported.

High inflation in recent years has reportedly taken a toll on traditional retailers, especially those like The Body Shop, which mainly operate out of malls and cater to the middle class.

Founded in 1976 by human rights activist and environmental activist Anita Roddick, the UK-based cosmetics company is known for the natural, sustainable, ethical and cruelty-free products it sells.

The company was one of the first to ban animal testing for many of its products, CNN reported.

Later in 2019, it was certified as a B Corp, a designation given to companies that meet certain standards of transparency and environmental responsibility.

By 2023, it had expanded to more than 2,500 retail locations in more than 80 countries and was available for online purchase in more than 60 markets.

The Body Shop has changed hands several times since its inception. According to CNN, the company was acquired by cosmetics giant L’Oreal in 2006 for more than $1 billion, and was later sold to Brazilian company Natura for $1 billion in 2017.

However, the brand has fallen on hard times and has struggled in recent years.

Natura noted in a report in early 2023 that The Body Shop was “facing headwinds” with a year-on-year decline of 13.5% in 2022, a year it said was “far from easy” for the brand. Natura said its direct-to-consumer channel “has benefited during COVID-19,” returning to “more normalized pre-pandemic levels,” further impacting sales figures.

In addition, according to CNN, The Body Shop was sold to asset management group Aurelius at the end of last year for approximately $266 million.