The US arm of Crabtree & Evelyn has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The health and beauty retailer’s American business operates 126 stores in 34 states. It expects its sales to fall by a quarter this year and to lose $13.3m on sales of $100m, and intends to use the Chapter 11 protection to close some stores and renegotiate leases on others.

In a court filing, the company blamed not only the bad economic situation in the US, but also management changes and a “disconnect” between management pay and performance.

The company, which is backed by investors from Kuala Lumpur, stressed that its UK business remains unaffected by the problems in the US.

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