The Body Shop International Plc
Finance bored the pants off me. I fell asleep more times than not.1
—Anita Roddick, founder, The Body Shop International
In the late 1990s, The Body Shop International PLC, previously one of the fastest growing manufacturer-retailers in the world, ran aground. Although the firm had an annual revenue growth rate of 20% in the early to middle 1990s, by the late 1990s, revenue growth slowed to around 8%. New retailers of the naturally based skin- and hair-care products entered the market, bringing intense competition for The Body Shop. Amidst the competition, The Body Shop failed to maintain its brand image by becoming something of a mass-market line as it
1 2
Anita Roddick, Body and Soul (London: Ebury Press, 1991), 105. Jean Sherman Chatzky, “Changing the World,” Forbes (2 March 1992): 87. 3 Anita Roddick, Business as Unusual (London: Thorsons, 2000), 56. This case was prepared by Susan Shank and John Vaccaro under the direction of Robert F. Bruner and Robert Conroy. It was written as a basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. The financial support of the Batten Institute for case development is gratefully acknowledged. Copyright © 2001 by the University of Virginia Darden School Foundation, Charlottesville, VA. All rights reserved. To order copies, send an e-mail to sales@dardenpublishing.com. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means— electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of the Darden School Foundation.
Do
Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. Permissions@hbsp.harvard.edu or 617-783-7860.
No tC
One of our greatest frustrations at The Body Shop is that we’re still judged by the media and the City by our profits, by the amount of product we sell, whereas we want and have always wanted to be judged by our
—Anita Roddick, founder, The Body Shop International
In the late 1990s, The Body Shop International PLC, previously one of the fastest growing manufacturer-retailers in the world, ran aground. Although the firm had an annual revenue growth rate of 20% in the early to middle 1990s, by the late 1990s, revenue growth slowed to around 8%. New retailers of the naturally based skin- and hair-care products entered the market, bringing intense competition for The Body Shop. Amidst the competition, The Body Shop failed to maintain its brand image by becoming something of a mass-market line as it
1 2
Anita Roddick, Body and Soul (London: Ebury Press, 1991), 105. Jean Sherman Chatzky, “Changing the World,” Forbes (2 March 1992): 87. 3 Anita Roddick, Business as Unusual (London: Thorsons, 2000), 56. This case was prepared by Susan Shank and John Vaccaro under the direction of Robert F. Bruner and Robert Conroy. It was written as a basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. The financial support of the Batten Institute for case development is gratefully acknowledged. Copyright © 2001 by the University of Virginia Darden School Foundation, Charlottesville, VA. All rights reserved. To order copies, send an e-mail to sales@dardenpublishing.com. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means— electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of the Darden School Foundation.
Do
Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. Permissions@hbsp.harvard.edu or 617-783-7860.
No tC
One of our greatest frustrations at The Body Shop is that we’re still judged by the media and the City by our profits, by the amount of product we sell, whereas we want and have always wanted to be judged by our