News
The Body Shop reveals full list of stores closing including several in Greater Manchester
Sad news for retail
The Body Shop is to shut 75 stores over the next four to six weeks resulting in hundreds of job losses.
It comes after the British cosmetics retailer announced it had fallen into administration, putting 2,000 jobs at risk.
Closures began last month (February 20th) with seven stores shutting: Ashford Town Centre, Kent, Bristol Queens Road, Bristol, Canary Wharf, London, Cheapside, London, Nuneaton, Warwickshire, Oxford Street-Bond Street, London and Surrey Quays, London.
More store closures have now been confirmed with 75 closing over the coming weeks – including several in Greater Manchester – and 116 remaining open.
The stores in our region that are closing include the sites in Bolton, Bury, Oldham and Wigan. Meanwhile, the Manchester Arndale, Manchester Royal Exchange, Trafford Park and Stockport branches are remaining open.
Administrators FRP said the retailer’s current portfolio is ‘no longer viable’ after ‘years of unprofitability’ and that the cuts would ‘help re-energise’ the brand.
The Body Shop has around 198 shops in the UK and employs around 2,200 people, including 750 staff at its head office.
Around 270 head office jobs are being cut, reducing roles by 40% and leaving around 400 full-time employees. It will restructure roles at its head office to align with its more financially viable strategy going forward.
The Body Shop ambassador programme, where individuals sell the brand’s products for a commission, is also being closed, FRP said.
There will be a ‘renewed focus’ on products, online sales channels and wholesale as part of its restructuring.
FRP said: “A reduced store footprint, will coincide with a renewed focus on the brand’s products, online sales channels and wholesale strategies, bringing the brand in line with industry peers and supporting a return to financial stability.”
The Body Shop was founded by the pioneering British businesswoman and activist Dame Anita Roddick and her husband in 1976.
It established itself as a ground breaking ethical, sustainable brand, rejecting animal testing on cosmetics and promoting environmentally-friendly products and ethical sourcing practices.
The trailblazing brand has since faced tough competition from other ethical brands including Lush, which was co-founded by Mark Constantine – a former supplier to The Body Shop.
In 2006 the couple sold The Body Shop to French beauty giant L’Oreal.
The Brazilian beauty giant Natura acquired the brand from L’Oreal in 2017, and Aurelius bought The Body Shop for £207m at the end of last year.
The 75 Body Shop stores closing are:
- Aylesbury
- Banbury
- Barnstaple
- Basildon
- Battersea
- Bedford
- Beverley
- Bexleyheath
- Blackburn
- Blackpool
- Bournemouth Commercial Rd
- Bolton
- Brixton
- Broughton Park
- Bury
- Camberley
- Carlisle
- Carmarthen
- Chippenham
- Cirencester
- Croydon
- Didcot
- Durham
- East Kilbride
- Edinburgh Gyle Centre
- Edinburgh Princes Mall
- Epsom
- Fareham
- Farnborough
- Glasgow Braehead
- Glasgow Fort
- Glasgow Silverburn
- Glasgow Station
- Grimsby
- Halifax
- Harlow
- Hastings
- Hempstead Valley
- High Wycombe
- Huddersfield
- Hull
- Ilford
- Ipswich
- Isle of Wight
- Islington
- Kendal
- Kings Lynn
- Leeds White Rose
- Lewisham Centre
- Lichfield
- Loughborough
- Luton
- Macclesfield
- Middlesbrough
- Morpeth
- Newton Abbot
- Northampton
- Oldham
- Perth
- Peterborough Queensgate
- Portsmouth
- Regent Street
- Salisbury
- Stafford
- Stanstead Airside
- Stratford Upon Avon
- Swansea
- Telford
- Thanet
- Trowbridge
- Wakefield Trinity Walk
- Walthamstow
- Wigan
- Woking
- Wolverhampton
The 116 Body Shop stores remaining open are:
- Aberdeen
- Ashford Outlet
- Basingstoke
- Bath
- Belfast Victoria Square
- Birmingham New St.
- Birmingham Bullring
- Bluewater
- Bracknell Lexicon
- Bradford Broadway
- Braintree Outlet
- Brent Cross
- Bridgend Outlet
- Brighton
- Bristol Cabot Circus
- Broadgate
- Bromley
- Bury St Edmonds
- Cannock Outlet
- Cardiff St Davids
- Castleford Outlet
- Canterbury Whitefriars
- Chelmsford
- Cheltenham
- Chesire Oaks Outlet
- Chester Foregate Street
- Chesterfield
- Chichester
- Clarks Village Outlet
- Colchester
- Coventry
- Crawley County Mall
- Cribbs Causeway
- Dalton Park Outlet
- Derby Intu
- Doncaster Lakeside Outlet
- Dudley
- Dundee
- Dunfermline
- Ealing
- East Midlands Outlet
- Eastbourne
- Edinburgh St James
- Enfield
- Fleetwood Outlet
- Foyleside
- Glasgow St. Enoch
- Gloucester
- Gretna Outlet
- Guildford High Street
- Gunwharf Outlet
- Harrogate
- Harrow
- Hatfield
- Hereford Commercial St
- Hounslow Treaty Centre
- Icon at O2 Outlet
- Inverness
- Kingston-Upon-Thames
- Lancaster
- Leamington Spa
- Leeds Briggate
- Leicester New Shires
- Lincoln Waterside
- Liverpool One
- Livingston Outlet
- Llandudno
- London Bridge
- Lowry Outlet
- Maidstone
- Manchester Arndale Centre
- Manchester Royal Ex
- Meadowhall High St
- Metro Centre Platinum Mall
- Milton Keynes
- Newcastle Eldon Sq
- Nottingham Bridlesmith Gate
- Oxford Street Soho
- Oxford Westgate
- Poole
- Preston
- Reading
- Romford
- Rushden Lakes
- Shrewsbury
- Skipton
- Solihull
- Southampton West Quay
- Southend
- Spalding
- St. Albans
- Staines
- Stockport
- Stratford City Westfield
- Sunderland
- Sutton
- Swindon Outlet
- Talke Hanley Outlet
- Taunton
- Thurrock
- Trafford Park
- Truro
- Tunbridge Wells Royal Victoria Place
- Uxbridge Market Square
- Warrington
- Watford
- Wembley Outlet
- White City Westfield
- Whiteley Village
- Wimbledon
- Winchester
- Windsor
- Worcester
- Worthing
- York Coppergate Walk
- York Depot
We’re pleased to announce that Proper Manchester is rebranding as Finest City Guides.
As part of this change, the Proper Manchester brand, including its social media channels, will transition to the Finest City Guides name.
This is a rebrand of the existing platform rather than a new or unrelated business. The same team behind Proper Manchester will continue to operate Finest City Guides as we develop the platform under its new identity.
Previous name: Proper Manchester
New name: Finest City Guides
Our social channels and other brand assets will be updated to reflect the Finest City Guides name as part of this transition.
More from Finest City Guides coming soon.
News
Oasis announce huge reunion tour as Liam and Noel Gallagher ‘make peace’
The news we’ve all been waiting for!
After years of will-they-won’t-they speculation, Oasis are officially BACK together for a reunion tour.
The Gallagher brothers have put aside their differences in the name of music, making thousands of fans extremely happy in the process.
The band teased the news on their socials over the weekend, posting a video on Sunday morning with today’s date (Tuesday, August 27th) and the time 8am.
And now shows have been announced for multiple dates in the UK and Ireland, with tickets going live this Saturday, August 31st.
The legendary Mancunian rockers will take to the stage next summer, with gigs in Cardiff, London, Edinburgh, Dublin and, of course, Manchester.
15 years after splitting, the band confirmed they would be back for 14 shows, saying: “The guns have fallen silent. The stars have aligned. The great wait is over. Come see. It will not be televised”.
The gigs will be Oasis’s ‘only shows in Europe next year’, with tickets on sale this Saturday at 8am in Ireland and 9am in the UK.
The Oasis 2025 tour dates in full:
July
4th – Cardiff, Principality Stadium
5th – Cardiff, Principality Stadium
11th – Manchester, Heaton Park
12th – Manchester, Heaton Park
19th – Manchester, Heaton Park
20th – Manchester, Heaton Park
25th – London, Wembley Stadium
26th – London, Wembley Stadium
August
2nd – London, Wembley Stadium
3rd – London, Wembley Stadium
8th – Edinburgh, Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium
9th – Edinburgh, Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium
16th – Dublin, Croke Park
17th – Dublin, Croke Park
You can grab your tickets HERE.
News
Stagecoach hiring over 100 new bus drivers for Bee Network with £31k salaries
Fancy a career change?
Stagecoach Manchester is hiring over 100 new bus drivers to work from its Oldham depot, following the second phase of the Bee Network launch in March.
You can apply for a range of roles, from positions with no experience required to fully qualified bus drivers.
Successful applicants will receive full training as part of the job, and trainees will get paid to train. Then after only 12 months’ service at Stagecoach, drivers can expect to earn up to £16 per hour, which equates to £31.6K per year, before overtime.
As well as that, drivers that already hold a PCV licence may be eligible to receive a £1,200 joining bonus.
Stagecoach
There’s also a host of other benefits available to all Stagecoach employees, like 28 days paid holiday, generous pension and free Stagecoach bus travel for successful applicants and a companion.
Rob Jones, Managing Director at Stagecoach Manchester said: “Expanding our offering in Oldham means we’ll be investing more in the economy and supporting our local community, as well as strengthening our workforce.
“Whether you’re looking for a career change or you’re a fully qualified, experienced bus driver, there’s a role for everyone here in Oldham.
“We’re looking for personable and dedicated drivers who are ready to help us build on the success of the Bee Network and connect the people of Oldham and Greater Manchester with the places and people that are important to them.”
Stagecoach
Phil Cornwall, bus driver at Stagecoach Manchester, said: “I’ve been a driver at Stagecoach for 25 years and I couldn’t recommend it more.
“From the perks to the people to the passengers, it really is a great place to work.”
To apply, head to the Stagecoach website HERE.
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