What a difference a year makes. Late last year, Natura &Co denied rumors of a potential sale of The Body Shop. After another quarter of declining sales, the Brazilian beauty conglomerate is considering "strategic alternatives" for the business. Encumbered by a heavy mall footprint in the US, The Body Shop has struggled with profitability, posting six consecutive quarters of losses. The company saw sales decline 12% during its second quarter. This news comes after an announcement in April that The Body Shop CEO David Boynton was exiting the company after five years at its helm. Ian Bickley, a board director at Natura &Co, replaced him as interim CEO. The Body Shop was founded in 1976 by the late environmentalist Anita Roddick and her husband Gordon, who pioneered the concept of ethical consumerism. Today The Body Shop has 10,000 employees across 3,000 stores in about 70 countries. L'Oréal bought the brand in 2006 for $1.14 billion and sold it to Natura &Co in 2017 in a $1.1 billion deal.