3. TI YUMI PIETERS | MARKETING ANALYSIS | T5A 2015
INTRODUCTION
This analysis is all about The Body Shop. The company description will tell you what
the company is about and how they started. The target groups and different kinds of
aspects will be named aswell, such as the demographic aspects, the geographic and
the physchographic aspects ofcourse. Also, a few of the direct and indirect
competitors of The Body Shop will be discussed. The used marketing mix will be
described and last but not least the reflection and sources will be at the end of the
analysis.
4. TI YUMI PIETERS | MARKETING ANALYSIS | T5A 2015
COMPANY DESCRIPTION
A. ACTIVITIES
The Body Shop is active in the cruelty-free cosmetics branch which sells honest
beauty products, made with natural ingredients. Such as soaps, skincare, make-up
etc. Some of their relations in the cosmetics market are big brands such as Yves
Rocher, Bath & Body Works, Sephora and Origins. But also these drugstore brands
are cruelty-free; Milani, NYX, E.L.F., Hard Candy and Physicials Formula. The Body
Shop boasts its natural and eco-friendly line of skin and hair care products. Line
of goods includes: body powder, bath and shower gel, candles, sponges, massages
oils, fragrances, soaps and more. Their products are cruelty-free and they don’t
forget to mention it. They are all about anti-animal testing, human rights, ethical trade
and activating self-esteem. The Body Shop doesn’t promote their products through
TV commercials, but mainly by using social-media, (such as Facebook, Tumblr.,
Twitter, Instagram and e-mail) .
B. HISTORY
The Body Shop was originally a store in Berkeley, California. Anita Roddick visited
the shop which sold natural, in 1970. 6 years later in 1976, Anita opened a similar
shop using the same company name. She started selling around 25 distinctive hand-
mixed products from one small shop in Brighton. In 1997, The Body Shop was the
very first International cosmetics company to be recognised under the Humane
Cosmetics Standard, supported by leading international animal protection groups.
Purchased by L’Oreal in June 2006, The Body Shop currently operates about 2,550
stores across 60 countries.
C. BUSINESS (LEGAL) FORM
L’Oreal and The Body Shop are actors in one of the fastest growing business
industries. Whereas L’Oreal represents one of the big multinational players, The
Body Shop serves as the smaller niche. The company is a global operation with
people working towards sharing common values, which has given the shop
a campaigning and commercial strength approach towards the cosmetic industry.
The brand also appeals to broad mix of age and socio-economic groups.
5. TI YUMI PIETERS | MARKETING ANALYSIS | T5A 2015
D. MARKET DATA
The amount a consumer annually spends on prodcts from The Body Shop, truly
depends on the consumers. The Body Shop seeks to establish economic partnership
with indigenous suppliers, thereby making them economically self- sustaining and not
dependent on the shops’ largesse resulting in low cost products.
The company currently exists of 50 branches in The Netherlands. How many
employees there are in these markets/regions/branches, depends on each branche.
6. TI YUMI PIETERS | MARKETING ANALYSIS | T5A 2015
TARGET GROUP ANALYSIS
DEMOGRAPHIC ASPECTS
The Body Shop has two major age groups, within its target market. They suggest its
target market is 18-55, but research has shown that targeting their female consumers
between 18-24 and 35-55 would be more realistic age frames within the in-store
customers. Mintel says, 18-24 year olds are most likely to have purchased bodycare
products within the last 6 months. Out of this grouping, reports have shown that
females between the age of 25-34 are most likely to go to The Body Shop, or other
bodycare stores such as Sephora, Bath & Body Works or Yves Rocher. The Body
Shop’s target market is middle to upper-class women who live in a city or suburban
area due to the fact the stores are usually placed in big cities. People with an income
of $60,000- $100,000 consume the majority market, with those making $30,000-
$60,000 close behind. Most consumers are Caucasian, females and have at least
a bachelor’s degree. And women without children ranging in age from 35-49 make up
the majority market with those aging 18-34 as another major consumer.
GEOGRAPHIC ASPECTS
The Body Shop’s target market is middle to upper-class women who live in a city or
suburban area due to the fact the stores are usually placed in big cities.
PSYCHOGRAPHIC ASPECTS
A lot of The Body Shop’s consumers consider themselves well informed about things
such as new health-trends, the environment and beauty-skincare products. In
general, the shop attracts wealthy consumers who have the money to spend a little
extra money on beauty/skincare products, while also attracting those who may not
have all of the extra cash, but have the impulse to buy. A consumers-survey (2010)
has shown that consumers of The Body Shop are also passionate about working out,
shopping at boutiques, reading Health magazine, and driving any smart car.
BEHAVIORAL ASPECTS
Most of The Body Shop’s visitors are heavy users and are very loyal to the brand. A
lot of the products they buy aren’t often available at other stores and so they use the
same brand over and over again, since they trust and know the products they
consume. But besides the heavy users, there are a lot of light and even non-users
aswell ofcourse, since not everyone feels the same way about certain products or
brands. The offers in the shop is often well done, there are often sales held, and the
shop always has to look well organized, cleaned and calm. Because it is a bodycare
company, the stores often smell very nice and the colours of the interior give it a
relaxing feeling. The employees have to tell the customers about the sales and other
offers they have at that moment, and try to talk them into buying products from their
shop.
7. TI YUMI PIETERS | MARKETING ANALYSIS | T5A 2015
COMPETITION ANALYSIS
DIRECT COMPETITIORS
The Body Shop has many competitors who offer similar bodycare and beauty
products. The main competitors of the company are Bath & Body Works, Origins and
Sephora.
Bath & Body Works has actually experienced a brand makeover, going from a
country-inspired company to a new, modern-day of beauty styled one.
Sephora is a heavy competitor offering not only their own line of make-up, but by
offering over 200 other brands in-store, including brands such as Urban Decay,
Burberry, Bare Minerals, CLINIQUE, Make Up 4 Ever, and many more.
Origins is similar to The Body Shop, in which it heavily focuses on the all natural
and eco-friendly products.
INDIRECT COMPETITORS
The Body Shop also has some indirect competitors like pharmacies, drugstores and
warehouses, which also sell similar bodycare products.
A list of some indirect competitors:
- Hema
- Kruidvat
- Boots
- The Bijenkorf
- Etos
Aspects Direct Indirect
Bath & Body Works The Bijenkorf
Product Similar offered bodycare
products (as The Body Shop)
Different kinds of products and
brands, fashion, bodycare,
makeup, foods, etc. Also
different kind of bodycare
brands, including The Body
Shop’s competition.
Promotion Online and in-store
promotions (sales, coupons,
etc.)
Commercials on TV, online,
advertisements outside and
online and on billboards.
Place Online webshop and branches
worldwide.
Online webshop and branches
across The Netherlands.
Price Similar to The Body Shop. Diverse price range.
8. TI YUMI PIETERS | MARKETING ANALYSIS | T5A 2015
MARKETING MIX
PRODUCT
- The Body Shop’s products are just right and of really good quality, ofcourse it
will always depend on your skintype etc..
- Most of their products have similar packaging, simply the name of the
product, the natural used ingredients and the ‘The Body Shop’ logo.
- The Body Shop hasn’t drastically changed their designs and they are very
easy to recognise.
- Their assortment is rather big. If it isn’t available in-stores, it’s usually still
available online. They have classic The Body Shop products, but they also
get new products every season.
- The service is very good, the employees and staff get trained well to give their
consumers marvellous advice and to help them out in any way they can.
PRICE
- The Body Shop has a middle-end pricing, because it’s still handmade and
made with natural ingredients, but they don’t want to be too expensive,
because less people will feel attracted/able to buy their products.
- The Body Shop has flat pricing, which means that their pricing doesn’t
change, unless there are sales or other offers involved.
PLACE
- The Body Shop stores are designed with very modern natural colours and
aspects. The colours used for their interior colour scheme, are easy to find in
their logos and other promotion plans. Soft light and dark shades, (which
aren’t too harsh for the consumer’s eyes,) wood and tree-leaf patterns, to
show some relations to their fair trade programmes and other campaigns.
- Their assortment is very organized and it looks very clean. The product types
such as the fragrances, skin type, vitamin kinds etc., are organized and often
placed the same as in the other The Body Shop branches.
- The Body Shop NL imports their products from Great Britain and that’s where
the headquarter is located aswell.
PERSONEL
- The service at The Body Shop is very friendly.
- Some of the employees aren’t very well known with all of their products, nor
do they all have amazing social-skills. But most of those employees are new
recruits who still have to learn and practise a lot.
- Most of the employees are very kind and they know what they are saying
about their products. They give excellent advice and get a lot of people to buy
the products they recommend.
9. TI YUMI PIETERS | MARKETING ANALYSIS | T5A 2015
- They are recognizable because of the The Body Shop blouses and shirts they
are wearing, along with their (usually) all black outfits.
- There are multiple training programmes for their staff. The training
programmes are mostly about gaining social skills and knowing how to deal
with them. But also the training programmes on the products are very
important. The staff gets to learn about the products itself, but also about
giving the right advice with the right products.
PROMOTION
- The Body Shop doesn’t have any commercials on TV or on the radio. They
are in some papers and plenty of magazines. Different columns about The
Body Shop, or just about one or multiple products from the brand.
- Employees have to handout samples or flyers at times.
- During the colder weather, they often hand out free hot chocolate or tea
outside of the store, trying to make people come inside.
- A lot of promotion by/for The Body Shop is word to mouth promotion. If one
consumer has had good experience with a product, they often recommend it
to others, such as their family, their friends, their neighbours or their
colleagues.
- Reviews on products from The Body Shop are also often published on blogs,
YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or other platforms or in magazines.
10. TI YUMI PIETERS | MARKETING ANALYSIS | T5A 2015
REFLECTION
This assignment was rather interesting. I had thought about the products and working
at The Body Shop quite often, but I had never thought about the company itself this
way. It was actually nice to learn so many new things about a store of which I have
been a loyal customer for a long time.
Personally, I think it didn’t go as I had planned, to make this assignment. I started not
too long after the assignment was handed out, but due to a crashed laptop, I had to
start all over again. I didn’t work quite well because I had been stressing around
about other projects a lot, so I started procrastinating and had to hurry with this
assignment.
Next time I have to plan it better and work on it sooner, even if anything happens
which makes me start all over, I’ll have to start all over on time.
But besides that, it was a good project to work on, I have learned a lot and I think I
can use this information in the future somehow.
11. TI YUMI PIETERS | MARKETING ANALYSIS | T5A 2015
SOURCES
List of information sources used for this Marketing Analysis.
- www.thebodyshopcareers.nl
- www.thebodyshop.nl
- www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Body_Shop
- www.loreal-finance.com/eng/brands/the-body-shop
- The Body Shop branch staff and manager.
