David Boynton Steps Down as CEO of The Body Shop
David Boynton will be stepping down as chief executive officer of The Body Shop at the end of the week, its owner Natura & Co. said Wednesday.
“We would like to thank him for his leadership and strong contribution since he joined the group. He led the brand and business transformation following the acquisition of The Body Shop from L’Oréal,” the group said in a statement, without providing an explanation for Boynton’s departure.
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Ian Bickley will be joining the group as interim CEO of The Body Shop, working closely with The Body Shop’s executive leadership team to refine the current business plan and transformation agenda, as well as to accelerate the road to profitability and cash conversion recovery, together with the return to sustainable revenue, the group added. In addition to these responsibilities, he will also be working closely with Natura & Co. to find a permanent successor.
Bickley previously served on Natura & Co.’s board committee dedicated to The Body Shop, as well as acting as an adviser.
Of the changes, Fabio Barbosa, Natura & Co.’s group CEO, said: “As we bid farewell to David, we also look forward to this next chapter in the story of The Body Shop. A chapter that holds endless possibilities and prospects for success. It is with great excitement that we welcome Ian Bickley. Ian’s passion for the retail sector and his track record of success makes him the right leader to bring new energy to the company.”
The CEO switch comes amid market chatter that Natura may be considering offloading The Body Shop, after inking a deal to sell Aesop, the Australian luxury personal care company, to L’Oréal in a transaction valuing the brand at more than $2.5 billion.
RELATED: L’Oréal Signs Deal to Acquire Aesop
The recent sale is expected to help Natura somewhat deleverage its balance sheet after a heavy acquisition period, and is part of its plan to return to profitability.
Natura posted a loss of 890 million Brazilian reals in the final three months of 2022. At the time, Barbosa said the company was navigating a challenging macro environment, which worsened with the war in Ukraine, and uncertainty surrounding the performance of a few business units after a post-pandemic change in consumer behavior.
The Brazilian beauty company acquired The Body Shop, founded by Anita Roddick in England in 1976, from L’Oréal in 2017, in a deal that valued the business at 1 billion euros. Boynton took on the role of CEO once the acquisition was finalized in December 2017. Prior to that, he was CEO of menswear company Charles Tyrwhitt, following at 10-year stint at French beauty brand L’Occitane.
During his time at the helm, he oversaw improvements to its ingredients, packaging and recycling programs. After unveiling a five-year plan to roll out refill stations to the majority of stores globally in April 2021, the company committed to 49 percent of its U.S. store locations offer refills by the end of last year.
But in its fourth-quarter earnings statement, Natura, stressed that The Body Shop continued to show top-line challenges, with net revenue down more than 20.6 percent compared with a year earlier.
In a statement, Boynton acknowledged that the company has achieved an “incredible amount” over the last five and a half years. “I am incredibly proud of the business we have built together and the work we have done to get The Body Shop back to the exciting and inspiring brand it was born to be,” he said.
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