Body Shop On The Move And Going ‘Back To Its Roots’

Published on: 11 Mar, 2014
Updated on: 11 Mar, 2014

By Maria Rayner

A familiar high street name is making a move to a more central shopping location in Guildford this weekend (Saturday March 15).

The Body Shop is moving from the Upper High Street to this unit in the middle of the ‘lower’ High Street.

The Body Shop, resident at 181 Upper High Street for nearly 30 years, will open the doors to its new branch in the building recently vacated by Jigsaw/Kew in the lower part of the High Street.

Manager Nicola Clark said: “The Body Shop is renovating its stores into more boutique-style spaces. It was decided to move the shop so that it was closer to the heartbeat of Guildford. We aim to get involved in the community and we will be more integrated in the lower High Street.”

The beauty products company was founded by a human rights activist, the late Dame Anita Roddick, in 1976 and aimed to produce ethically sourced, natural merchandise which weren’t tested on animals.

The revamping project is aimed at taking the chain back to its roots. There will be makeovers, a more visual layout and a table in the middle of the store, echoing Dame Roddick’s cottage industry beginnings.

The pedestrianised area of Guildford is home to the better-known chains of high street shops. Nicola thought that the increased footfall might make The Body Shop more noticeable to casual shoppers.

There will be a big opening event on Saturday including a ribbon cutting and giveaways to the first 100 customers. The store will open at 10am.

In line with The Body Shop’s community ethos the ribbon will be cut by Oxfam staff with whom there have been charitable collaborations in the past. Volunteers from the charity will be around to answer questions throughout the day.

All of the current staff are transferring to the updated store, including Halina Paice who has been with the company for most of the 29 years in Guildford. There will be two new employees.

Nicola has worked at The Body Shop for three years but has only been in Guildford for a month. She said: “It’s a good shopping destination. A great place.”

The Body Shop became part of L’Oreal group in 2006 and founder Anita Roddick died in 2007. The company continue to be involved in causes such as HIV/AIDS education, fair trade and is actively against animal testing of cosmetics.

Responses to Body Shop On The Move And Going ‘Back To Its Roots’

Raineee Wornham Reply

March 18, 2014 at 1:26 pm

Guildford’s Upper High Street will be like a ghost street soon with just take away food outlets and estate agents. That is the worse part of Guildford for shoppers, there really is nothing there.
More and more units are lying empty in Guildford mainly in the High Street and North Street. The rates are far too high to survive trading!
Gerald Bland Reply

April 25, 2014 at 2:12 pm

I wish I shared Body Shop’s confidence that the lower High Street will remain ‘the heartbeat of Guildford.’
I understand at a meeting in Millmead last evening (Thursday, April 25) the council’s Executive resolved to enter into a conditional development agreement with Land Securities.
The agreement has as its ambition an increase in the retail floor space in the town centre by 65% centred on North Street.
It’s unfortunate the green belt debate has deflected attention from the future of the town centre and the opportunity to plant it up with homes?
Do we really want Guildford to be a clone retail Woking?
Can this massive retail uplift, which will involve the loss of the bus station, be accommodated as the council intend without any radical overhaul in the existing woeful road and footpath network and parking provision?
Are the institutional owners and retail occupiers in the High Street going to limply buy into this new retail development which will see the primary shopping area move to North Street at a time when internet shopping is having an all too visible impact on high street retailing ?
This important debate needs to be given prominence by The Dragon so wider discussion can start and feed into the Allies & Morrison visioning exercise and emerging draft Local Plan.