About Body Shop, its core values and its relation with CSR

1. By: Farha Qureshi
(213)

2. THE BODY SHOP
• Founded in 1976 by Anita Roddick
• Headquarters in Littlehampton, West Sussex,
England
• 2,400 stores in 61 countries.
• Now part of the L'Oréal corporate group.
The BIRTH of BODY SHOP

3. THE BODY SHOP
• Various Body Shop characteristic features
were born from the financial necessity.
Virtue out of necessity.
• The Body Shop’s alternative cosmetics line.
• The packaging.
• Free publicity.

4. Core Values
• Policy - no animal testing.
• Use of volunteers.
• LD50

5. Values
Against animal testing
Support community trade
Activate self esteem
Defend human rights
Protect our planet

6. Standing apart . . .
• Staff : receptive instead of sales oriented.
• Half a day’s wage: for service to community.
Thus 3rd generation CSR (proactive).
• Staff policy addresses the combination of
work, family life and care.
• ‘Trade not Aid’ programme.
• Selection of employees.

7. Body Shop’s Mission Statement
To dedicate our business to the pursuit of social and environmental change.
To creatively balance the financial and human needs of our stakeholders,
employees ,franchisees ,customers, suppliers and shareholders
To courageously ensure that our business is ecologically sustainable
meeting the needs of the present without compromising the future.
To meaningfully contribute to local and international communities in which
we trade ,by adopting a code of conduct which ensures care, honesty,
fairness and respect.
To passionately campaign for the protection of the environment, human
and civil rights and against Animal Testing within the cosmetics and
toiletries industries
To tirelessly work to narrow the gap between principle and practice, whilst
making fun, passion and care part of our lives.

8. Strategy for growth
• In 1977 - Succeeded in conveying the body shop concept
to others by turning it into a FRANCHISE.
• In 1984 - Floated on stock exchange
• In 1985-1990 – Revenue and profit rose by a factor of
10.
• The reasons for increased reputation of Body Shop
 1985 – Anita Roddick was named as British women of
the year
 1989 – She won the award for best British retailer and
was honored with the royal Order of the British Empire.

9. Why setup failed in America?
• The three main reasons were:
 Product price were significantly higher than the massproduced drug store items
 It failed to open many shop in US
because:
- Entrepreneur doing business in different states of US
is subjected to varying requirements.
- Mail order sales were insufficient.
 Did not advertise.

10. The Body Shop under fire
• Broke the policy of not advertising the products directly to
customers.
• In 1994 – Jon Entine published the article – The Body
Shop in Business Ethics entitled ‘Shattered Image’.
He said that Only a small proportion of the ingredients was purchased
through fair trade programmes while majority was
brought on the world market.
 Added another serious allegation that 46.5% of the
ingredients in their products were not free of animal
testing.

11. Increasing competition
• 1600 shops with 500 employees in 47 countries.
• Increasing competition.
• Attempts to sell its brand in 2001 to Ethical Investors.
• The position of managing director was transferred to
a professional manager and Roddicks became
members of managing board.

12. A New Start
• Jan Oosterwijk, the new director and owner of the
Body Shop Benelux.
• Efforts to design new products more attractively, with
more luxury packing.
• The new shop formula was tested in eight shops in
2004 and selling products outside own shops.
• The goal was to make more profits and to succeed in
binding right target group.

13. A) Cultural creatives
• Care for the ecological problems of the world.
• Concern about the discrimination and exploitation of
people.
• A better living environment.
• The importance of a personal lifestyle.

14. B) Product quality
• Functional quality: The product must deliver what
they promised.
• Visual quality: Packaging must be luxurious and
attractive and the shops must look neat and tidy.
• Intangible quality ingredients: Animal welfare,
Human welfare, Natural and Environmental welfare.

15. Results of the New Strategy
• Increased efficiency in stock control.
• Better management of the Supply Chain.
• They made efficient use of sales data and the use of
the new distribution channels.
• The Body Shop repositioned itself as a “Masstige
Brand”.

16. Results of the New Strategy
• Bought back the franchise rights in U.K, United States
and Canada.
• Body Shop launched Community Trade.
• The Body Shop also started the Ethical Trade
Program in order to improve conditions for workers
in the supply chain.

17. Take Over by L’oreal
• Body Shop was taken over by L’oreal in March 2006
for £652 million.
• It had displayed the visionary leadership in wanting
to be an authentic advocate and supporter of The
Body values.
• Anita Roddick criticized L’oreal for using harmful
chemicals.
• Critcs also alleged that L‘oreal exploited the sexuality
of women.

18. Take Over by L’oreal
• It was hard to swallow that the Body Shop was taken over by
L’oreal.
• A statement on a website, Naturewatch said “We feel that the
body shop has sold out and is not standing by the principles”.
• Body Shop clarified the acquisition by stating that L'Oreal
would not diminish its Ethical stance.
• L’oreal had purchased a new product testing machine one
month earlier from a French Company, SkinEthic that uses
artificial human tissue, entirely eliminating the need for
ANIMALS.

19. The Body Shop Later
• Failed to retain ethical product differentiation
as a “STRATEGY”.
• Dilution of the original “COMMUNITY TRADE”
formula.
• The Body Shop’s confession for animal testing.
Hence, The Body Shop could no longer keep
its original promises & it started to make
mistakes.

20. Body Shop : Offbeat Approach to Business
Mainstream
Industries
Focus on powerful
stakeholders.
Animal Testing is a
necessary evil.
Focussed powerless
stakeholders: animals, native
population and environment.
Deviant viewpoints: packaging
and advertising.
Open activism in the early
stages.
Body Shop

21. Conclusions
• Body Shop gradually professionalized its approach
along with persevering with several social projects
in the face of fierce criticism.
• After the takeover by L’Oréal, the management’s
attention assumed more business and commercial
aspects.
• The history of Body Shop has seen 3 phases: rise,
fall and recovery.
• Different set of ideals in each phase with the latest
being a synthesis of the previous two.

22. ETHICS PAYS, BUT NOT ALWAYS
Body Shop is an example of sustainable business that
actually does not appear to be so sustainable commercially,
in that the competitive advantage of the sustainability was
not persevered.
Body Shop is an example of sustainable business that
actually does not appear to be so sustainable in the moral
sense, in that the moral values proved to be unable to
withstand the success (and in particular the expansion) of
the business.