Nina (64) sees The Body Shop going bankrupt six months before her retirement: “I did it with heart and soul, and then you come across something like this” (Kortrijk)
Last Wednesday, the Belgian branch of The Body Shop was declared bankrupt. That news also hit Nina De Jonge (64) like a bomb. She is the independent manager of the Kortrijk Body Shop. “Hallucinant, it’s the end of an era.”
She had imagined it differently after 32 years. The successful The Body Shop will soon be no more. The Belgian department was declared bankrupt on Wednesday. Nina De Jonge (64), the self-employed manager of The Body Shop in Kortrijk, would retire in October. “It turns out a little differently,” says the Kortrijk native.
“It’s actually hallucinatory. It’s the end of an era. We were way ahead of our time thirty years ago. We were even thinking ecologically. Now the curtain falls. Due to the bankruptcy, deliveries stop, but I will remain open as long as I can.”
De Jonge worked on customer loyalty, because she herself worked in the shop on the corner of Lange Steenstraat and Doorniksestraat. “I definitely have a bond with my customers. You can’t believe how popular The Body Shop still was or is.” (read more below the box)
“I have a four-page list here of customers calling to reserve this or that perfume, like the White Musk. Our perfume line is still very popular. I get calls from everywhere, from Sint-Niklaas, from Leuven. I hope to be able to satisfy all those people through the curator. A number of products have already sold out. However, I still have a large stock with which I can still help customers. I certainly hope for the months of March and April. If no more stock is supplied, it will be forced to stop at some point.” (read more below the photo)
In the store itself there is a lot of coming and going. “It’s quite emotional,” says De Jonge. “That’s why I prefer not to be photographed. I have done this with heart and soul and then on the eve of a beautiful farewell you come across something like this.”
The Body Shop was founded in Brighton in 1976 by Anita Roddick, with the vision to change the beauty industry. Her approach led to the introduction of the Community Trade program in 1987, which ensured the brand had raw material suppliers from more than 20 countries around the world, with the aim of sourcing the highest quality raw materials while supporting local communities. to help. It made the chain very popular. Now that era has come to an end.
