Body Time shuts stores — victim of rising rents
Owners work to fill backlog of orders for skin care items
Body Time, a Berkeley business that sells bath soaps, perfumes and moisturizers and was formerly known as the Body Shop, is closing.
“Our rents have almost doubled and we weren’t able to negotiate our lease,” the retailer wrote on its Facebook page. “This was a big surprise to us as well as our many loyal customers.”
The retailer got its start as the Body Shop in the 1970s, when women sold products in a 3-by-5-foot counter in a Berkeley garage. The store later was rebranded Body Time after the founders sold the original name to a London skin care company in 1992; that company became a global beauty empire. The last remaining Body Time stores were in Berkeley and Walnut Creek, according to its website. The company — bought from the founders in 2011 by an East Bay couple — announced on its Facebook page last week that its stores would close on April 22, and no one answered calls to the stores.
Body Time said on its website Wednesday that it had received thousands of online and telephone orders and was working to clear the backlog. “We will not cease operations until every order is filled,” the company wrote, describing the experience of closing as “heartbreaking.”
Body Time did not respond to The Chronicle’s request for an interview.
Seattle resident Mori Mo spent more than $250 ordering items in bulk, including perfumes, creams and oils, after she heard the last stores were closing. Mo had been shopping at Body Time for more than 20 years.
“There really isn’t a store that can replace my shopping experience at Body Time, with all of their customizable scents and products,” Mo wrote to The Chronicle. “This is why I bought many of their products in bulk, and I plan to use them sparingly.”
Body Time allowed people to create their own perfume, and Melissa Luciany, a 38-year-old Fremont resident, made her favorite scent at Body Time.
“I’m pretty bummed,” Luciany said. “I really liked the store.”