The Body Shop’s Swedish company enters liquidation – franchise stores may remain open

The Body Shop Svenska AB has entered liquidation, according to Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet. However, the announcement does not mean that every Swedish store trading under the brand will disappear. Some are run by independent franchisees and are separate from the company being liquidated. For those involved in or considering franchising in Sweden, the news highlights why it is important to distinguish between a brand and the companies operating its stores.

Liquidation applies to the Swedish company

According to Aftonbladet, the decision to apply for liquidation of The Body Shop Svenska AB was taken at an extraordinary general meeting on 10 April. The newspaper cites the Swedish Companies Registration Office, which states that the liquidation was approved and took effect on 19 April.

The key point is which company the decision concerns. Aftonbladet reports that the beauty chain is closing down in Sweden, but makes an important exception: some stores are operated by franchisees and are therefore separate from the Swedish company now being liquidated.

It would therefore be misleading to interpret the news as an announcement that every Swedish The Body Shop store must close. The reporting distinguishes between the operations of The Body Shop Svenska AB and stores run by independent franchisees. However, the available information does not include a complete list of which stores are affected or which will remain open.

Franchise stores are in a different position

The possibility that some stores may continue trading is the clearest franchise-related development in the reporting. These stores are not operated by the company being liquidated. The implications of the announcement therefore differ depending on which company runs each individual store.

For customers, this distinction may not be obvious. Stores can share a name while being operated by different businesses. In this case, that separation is crucial to understanding why some stores may remain open as the Swedish company is wound up.

However, this should not be taken as a guarantee of any individual franchise store’s future. The available information does not specify how many franchise stores there are, where they are located or their long-term prospects. Nor does it explain how supplies, contracts or other practical matters will be handled in future.

The conclusion supported by the reporting is therefore limited: not all Swedish stores are affected by the liquidation in the same way. Identifying which locations will retain their stores, or how long they will continue trading, would require further announcements from the businesses concerned.

Store closures and international difficulties

At its peak, The Body Shop had around 60 stores in Sweden, according to Aftonbladet. The newspaper also reports that several stores have closed recently. That figure therefore describes the chain’s Swedish store network at its largest, rather than the number remaining after the liquidation announcement.

The developments in Sweden also have an international context. According to the reporting, the British parent company, The Body Shop International Limited, entered administration in February. Shortly afterwards, The Body Shop filed for bankruptcy in countries including Denmark and the United States.

These are separate developments in different countries. The Swedish announcement concerns liquidation, while the UK reporting concerns administration and the reports from Denmark and the United States concern bankruptcy filings. These events should not be treated as a single announcement covering every company or store trading under the brand.

Aftonbladet states that the chain has around 3,000 stores in 60 countries. This gives a sense of the brand’s international scale, but does not indicate how many Swedish operations may continue through franchising.

What the announcement means for the franchise community

For Sweden’s franchise community, the news illustrates the importance of clear information about who operates a store. A shared brand is not enough to establish which company a decision applies to. Here, the separate corporate structure explains why the liquidation announcement does not affect all stores in the same way.

The next important information will therefore be announcements about individual stores. The available reporting does not provide a comprehensive picture of the future Swedish store network. Nor does it support the claim that franchise stores are unaffected by the chain’s other difficulties, only that they are separate from the company being liquidated.

Practical takeaway: Check which company operates the store in question and await its own announcements. The liquidation of The Body Shop Svenska AB does not, in itself, mean that every Swedish franchise store is closing.