The Body Shop Is Back

New national master licence holders for The Body Shop have this week opened the brand's new flagship New Zealand store in the Richmond Mall, near Nelson. 

The first Body Shop store opened in New Zealand in 1989 on Lambton Quay in Wellington and in its heyday grew to a 28-store chain. In September 2024 the UK assets of the Body Shop International were sold on following a period of financial hardship, but this excluded the New Zealand business which was told it would receive no further financial support from the UK administrator. Earlier this year, The Body Shop's ailing New Zealand operation, by that time operating under management of one owner, went into voluntary administration, followed by full liquidation and closure of all its 16 remaining stores. 

Shortly after the previous New Zealand operation closed down, the London-based Auréa Group which now owns The Body Shop International, awarded the right to operate the brand in New Zealand to Khan Anthony Wyman and Indah Pamela Bonira, directors of Version3 Limited. Online sales were relaunched some months ago and now the first of The Body Shop's new-look "workshop-style" interactive stores has opened in the Nelson region, with the new owners indicating a goal to have multiple franchised locations up and running as quickly as possible. 

Khan Wyman told the NZ Herald's Tom Raynel that he hoped the brand’s revival would also see some previously redundant employees return, noting their serious passion for The Body Shop brand and ethos.