By Andrea Lambrou
Copyright dailyrecord
After being given a brief reprieve Lanarkshire’s only Bodycare store shut up shop before the death knell sounded on the beauty chain today. The East Kilbride branch was included in a list of nine remaining Scottish stores to be kept open after the popular discount retailer plunged into administration. But joint administrators G.R. & M.M. Blackledge plc, trading as Bodycare, confirmed today it was “with regret” that a sale of the stores is now unlikely as a closure programme for the remaining 56 UK stores begins. The company’s administrators said retailers were facing “challenging times” with rising costs and rents and fierce competition for consumer spending. Despite escaping the initial ‘hit list’ shoppers reported bare shelves and clearance sales at the East Kilbride branch with the town centre store closing its doors for good on Monday, September 15. Since their last update, the joint administrators have continued to liaise with a number of parties who have expressed interest in the business, including interest in the Bodycare brand. However they said given the shortage of stock and significant costs associated with operating stores, it was “no longer viable” to continue to trade the business. It is expected that all stores will close by Saturday, September 27 with all 444 members of staff being made redundant. The administrators say they will continue to provide all support to those impacted, including supporting them with claims to the Redundancy Payments Service. Nick Holloway, managing director at Interpath and joint administrator, said: “We understand this has been a difficult period and so we want to further express our sincere thanks to Bodycare’s staff who, since day one of the administration, have maintained the strong standards of presentation and customer service that Bodycare was renowned for. “We will continue to explore options for the company’s assets, including the Bodycare brand, and will provide further updates in due course.” *Don’t miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here . And did you know Lanarkshire Live had its own app? Download yours for free here .
