Body Shop shock - 48 jobs to go

Shocked staff have been told that the transfer of all 48 jobs at the Watersmead centre will begin next month and is expected to be completed by May, although workers will be offered jobs elsewhere in The Body Shop.

The workers, who are being offered other jobs with the parent company, are victims of the success of the Body Shop offshoot, which sells beauty products at parties held in people's homes, through a global network of 3,000 "consultants".

In the 10 weeks up to Christmas, while Body Shop profits from stores rose by three per cent in the UK, the At Home UK sales rocketed by 26 per cent and the booming demand has led to the business outgrowing its existing premises.

One Body Shop at Home worker, who contacted the Gazette anonymously, said staff were concerned at what job they would now be offered and whether or not all 48 would be able to get jobs.

She added that people were surprised that, with many empty factories in Littlehampton, The Body Shop couldn't find somewhere local to relocate the centre.

A spokeswoman for the company said: "Due to the growth of The Body Shop At Home business in the UK and around the world, the warehouse space currently available in our Littlehampton location is no longer feasible to support the business.

"We have therefore decided to re-locate our The Body Shop At Home distribution operation and to outsource it at the same time to UTi in Aylesford, Kent."

She added that although the distribution service would be moving, jobs with The Body Shop elsewhere at Littlehampton would be made available to all 48 staff affected.

The fresh uncertainty over jobs comes just weeks after the world's biggest cosmetics company L'Oreal revealed it was considering a takeover bid for The Body Shop, prompting shares in the Littlehampton ethical beauty products empire to leap by 12 per cent.

Another Body Shop rival, Lush, also announced that it may consider putting in an offer for the company.

The Body Shop At Home was originally set up in the UK in 1994 as The Body Shop Direct. In 2002 the business was extended to the United States and has also been rolled out in Australia.