L’Oréal to sell The Body Shop | Progresiv
French L’Oréal is currently talking to business bank Lazar to see the options for the sluggish The Body Shop, but it is highly likely the environmentally-conscious store chain may be put up for sale. 
The chain, founded in 1976 by the now-deceased Anita Roddick, has more than 3,000 stores across 66 countries. It is mostly known for its ethical principles, like the refusal to sell cosmetics based on animal trials. L'Oréal acquired the chain in 2006 for about 1 billion euro and it expects to generate at least that amount if it decided to sell despite The Body Shop's mounting losses over the past few years.
In the first half of 2016, The Body Shop's turnover dropped 0.6 % to 368.6 million euro and its operational loss grew from 7.2 million euro to 22.2 million euro. The company blamed weaker performances in Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia, but did also highlight further expansion of its most important markets, like Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom. (www.retaildetail.eu)
