Popular Mall Chain Files For Bankruptcy, Abruptly Closes All US Stores

Retailers have been having a tough time financially, with many closing some locations and a few, like Bed, Bath & Beyond, Tuesday Morning and Christmas Tree Shops, needing to declare bankruptcy and shutter all of their stores. Well, popular skin care and cosmetics company The Body Shop just had to do the same thing, but they did it a little more drastically. Typically, when a company files for bankruptcy, they do it as a Chapter 11, which gives them an opportunity to try everything they can to stay afloat before liquidating, but The Body Shop filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which means they immediately will go to liquidation, and in doing so, have closed all of their US locations.

The writing seemed to be on the wall last week, when the company closed half of its U.K. locations and filed for bankruptcy in Canada. At that point, American stores seemed to cease operations too but the chain's website showed a message that read "We're currently undergoing planned maintenance, but don't worry, we're due to be back online soon." It gave hope that things would get back on track in America, but the company just made their Chapter 7 filing, dashing any hopes the stores will reopen.

With it, all 50 locations are no longer open and everything in them is expected to be sold off to cover debts. Additionally, 400 jobs are at risk. For now, there are still Body Shop locations open in the U.K. and Australia, but their futures remains in doubt.