THE BODY SHOP stores in Ireland are set to close from the 29th of this month, staff have been told.

Staff have received email communications informing them that Irish stores will be closing. In the email, they were advised that a store may remain open for the purpose of selling off stock, but this was not guaranteed. 

At this point in time staff have said they are unclear on information regarding redundancies, and that they have engaged with Siptu the union.

It is understood that staff have requested formal notice of their employment being terminated, but so far this request has gone unanswered. 

It is further understood that staff have been told to trade as normal. 

Last week in a bid to become financially stable, the Body Shop UK went into administration. It has since announced the closure of nearly half of its 198 stores, leaving over thousands of staff members facing redundancy. 

Administrators FRP last week said that the Body Shop remains guided by its ambition to be a “modern, dynamic beauty brand”. 

They said that the business is becoming more “nimble” to achieve financial stability. 

The Body Shop was founded in 1976 by Anita Roddick and her husband Gordon. 

The first Irish store was opened in Dublin in 1981, and the next store to open was located in Cork. 

Recently, the private equity firm Aurelius, which took control of the UK business. The firm paid out £207m to buy the store from the Brazilian cosmetics company Natura and Co. 

One Irish employee working in a Body Shop store said that staff are at a loss as to what the next steps will be, and that communications between the new owners of the business and staff have been “unclear”. 

The staff member said that while workers have received an email saying stores will close, they have not had any formal notice of their employment being terminated.

There are seven The Body Shop stores in Ireland.

The Journal has attempted to contact the owners of these stores for comment.