Health and beauty retailer Bodycare announces PMC tech tie up as it preps High Street comeback
Bodycare has connected with PMC to design, orchestrate and deliver the digital infrastructure that will power its new store network as the health and beauty retailer prepares for its return to the UK high street.
Last year, it closed all its stores after collapsing into adminstration. Its brand and intellectual property were acquired out of administration in late 2025 by an investor group led by former The Body Shop and Molton Brown CEO Charles Denton, and it is now aiming to open 25 UK stores in 2026, growing to 200 locations over the next five years.
The plan is to run all store operations through a proprietary, custom built AI platform, which will see AI decisioning powering colleague actions, served via data harvested from the store, from task management, in-store network, CCTV and PoS systems to digital shelf technologies.
Bodycare also envisages making each new location a social content hub for local communities, generating localised content via staff, micro-influencers and customers. Each one will host a dedicated content production studio, generating social content each week, with content and UGC takeovers streaming live across digital screens.
“Store experience, digital presence and community engagement - all underpinned by AI intelligence - will be central to Bodycare’s new vision, as we prepare to welcome customers back,” says David Stern, Managing Director at Bodycare. “PMC is not just a transformation partner that we can trust with delivery - their trusted experience is helping us re-imagine, design and create the AI led strategy to bring our vision for Bodycare 2.0 to life.”
PMC will support the end-to-end execution of Bodycare’s IT infrastructure, with a dedicated team of digital architects designing and implementing the retailer’s full tech stream, from facilities management to security, core IT systems and digital in-store technology. In addition, it will power Bodycare’s PoS systems, from checkout to mobile PoS and kiosks (SCO), via its Graphene Engage platform, as well as deploying Connect, its proprietary data integration solution.
“We’re taking Bodycare’s bold vision of AI led but community driven stores and connecting it with the innovation that will set them up for the future,” says Elliott Winskill, Technology & Solutions Director at PMC, who is acting as Technical Lead to deliver the project.
“It’s about creating the scalability and fluidity within the tech stack that gives Bodycare customers the opportunity to interact - whether socially, through community created content or by making purchases - at each stage of the in-store experience.”
Bodycare will open six new stores, including locations in Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield and Derby, by July, with the retailer targeting a total of 50 by the end of next year.
2026 RTIH Innovation Awards
AI will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.
The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.
Check out our 2025 winners here.
Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.
In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”
“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”
He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”
Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.
