The Body Shop Canada has entered a pivotal new chapter with its acquisition by Serruya Private Equity.
And the brand has unveiled a focused strategy to expand its Canadian retail footprint, reimagine in-store experiences, and deepen connections with Canadian consumers.
“Being Canadian-owned allows The Body Shop Canada to move with greater agility, tailoring our approach to meet the values and expectations of Canadian consumers,” said Michael Roden, President of The Body Shop Canada. “With the support of a strong executive team, I am proud to be guiding The Body Shop Canada into this new era. Our focus is on creating immersive experiences, both in-store and online, that reignite passion for the brand and welcome the next generation of customers.”
Today, The Body Shop Canada operates 64 stores nationwide and is investing in an enhanced
omnichannel strategy. Since January 2025, the brand has opened two new locations in Ontario at
Sherway Gardens and Lime Ridge Mall and will debut a flagship store in Vancouver’s Pacific Centre in
early November 2025. A new store has opened in CrossIron Mills in the Calgary area. New store designs feature skin consultations, interactive product discovery zones, and community-driven spaces.
“As part of its growth plan, The Body Shop Canada will introduce new collections alongside its hero products, beginning with the launch of the premium Spa of the WorldTM, Sweet On You Mist collection, limited-edition Sugar Pumpkin, and many more exciting products to come. While proudly Canadian-owned, all products will continue to be developed and manufactured in Europe, ensuring consistent global quality and ethical sourcing standards. These launches mark an important opportunity to deepen connections with loyal customers and attract new audiences, reinforcing the brand’s position as an ethical leader in the Canadian beauty market,” said the company.
The Body Shop first entered Canada in 1980, opening its inaugural store in Toronto. In March last year, The Body Shop Canada, the Canadian subsidiary of the global beauty brand with 105 stores across the country, announced it had commenced restructuring proceedings by filing a Notice of Intention (NOI) to Make a Proposal pursuant to the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (Canada). It will be closing 33 Canadian stores, it said at the time.
In an interview with Retail Insider, Roden said The Body Shop has been in Canada for more than 45 years.
“It has a loyal, a loyal customer and we want to obviously continue to stay connected with that customer. But where we have an opportunity is to be able to connect with the next generation, the younger generation, whot heir parents bought from The Body Shop when they went to university or they went to college. So I think the one opportunity is definitely through our products. We are obviously testing some new product that will be looking at the younger audience,” explained Roden.
“I think number two, definitely there’s an opportunity for us to be more seen in different places, like some of the initiatives that we’re working on. We’re already in Shoppers Drug Mart. We are expanding our brand through third party business outside of just our core business. Shortly we will be launching on Amazon Canada. We have reinstated the online business that was shut down more than a year ago.
“So really we have an opportunity to really make The Body Shop more accessible and convenient while continuing to build on a legacy of ethical, sustainable, product and cruelty-free beauty. We want to live by our values, but we have an opportunity to be expanding.
“And, obviously being now Canadian owned, we also have the opportunity to really speak to our Canadian audience, our core audience here where in the past a lot of the direction came out of the UK. Still the product is out of the UK. We take direction from them but really we are our own business now, so it’s really up to us on how we want to tailor the business through the marketing, through the product and through the customer experience in our stores.”
Roden said the brand still look at retail brick and mortar as an important part of its business, but it’s also open to having diversity and diverting certain parts of the business into new channels
The company was founded in 1976 in Brighton, England by Dame Anita Roddick. Since its beginning, The Body Shop said it has been a pioneer of ethical beauty, offering high-quality, innovation-led skincare, body care, haircare and make-up made with natural, fairly traded ingredients from around the world.
Roden is a seasoned executive in the retail industry who has previously served as CEO of Thrifty’s Inc. (division of YM Inc.), leading large-scale store rollouts, brand repositioning, and operational turnarounds.
“Roden brings deep expertise in market-specific strategy, omnichannel growth, and operational excellence, with a focus on integrating customer experience across physical and digital platforms to drive sustained growth,” said the company.
Roden has been with The Body Shop Canada February 1 when he was brought in to be a consultant to help with the reorganization of the brand. In early June, he became President of the brand.
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