Hot! The Body Shop

The Body Shop International plc, known as The Body Shop , has 2,400 stores in 61 countries, and is the second largest cosmetic franchise in the world, following , a Brazilian company. The Body Shop is headquartered in Littlehampton , England , was founded in 1976 by the late Dame Anita Roddick and is now part of the corporate group.

History

In the early 1970s, Anita Roddick (then Anita Perilli) visited a shop in Berkeley, California selling naturally-scented soaps and lotions called The Body Shop. The Berkeley Body Shop run by Peggy Short and Jane Saunders used natural ingredients, and helped to employ and train immigrant women. The Body Shop name was a clever pun, as the original Berkeley store was opened in a converted auto body shop, C.J. s Old Garage on .

The natural, environmentally-minded and intimate cosmetics shop inspired Anita Roddick to open her own shop back in the UK in 1976. In 1987, Roddick purchased the naming rights from the original Body Shop. From its first launch in the UK in 1976, The Body Shop experienced rapid growth, expanding at a rate of 50 percent annually. Its London Stock Exchange , the stock was given the nickname "The shares that defy gravity," as its price increased by more than 500%.

But the opening of Roddick's first modest shop received early attention when the Brighton newspaper, The Evening Argus, carried an article about an undertaker with a nearby store who complained about the use of the name "The Body Shop."

In March 2006, The Body Shop agreed to a 652.3 million takeover by . It was reported that Anita and Gordon Roddick, who set up The Body Shop 30 years previously, made 130 million from the sale.

Following her death in 2007, Prime Minister Gordon Brown paid tribute to Dame Anita, calling her "one of the country's true pioneers" and an "inspiration" to businesswomen. He said: "She campaigned for green issues for many years before it became fashionable to do so and inspired millions to the cause by bringing sustainable products to a mass market. She will be remembered not only as a great campaigner but also as a great entrepreneur."

Policy on animal testing Community Fair Trade (formerly Trade not Aid) Products The Body Shop Foundation Controversy References

^ . .

^

^

. The Independent (London). 2006-03-17. Retrieved 2010-05-25.

BBC News. 2007-09-10. Retrieved 2010-05-25.

About The Body Shop Story from Encyclopedia of Leadership, Volume 4

Body Image. More than just dolls?

Interview: Anita Roddick, Body Shop founder

. Retrieved 2006-04-30

. Retrieved 2006-04-30

(PDF). Retrieved 2006-04-30

. Retrieved 2008-09-05.

BBC: The Magazine Monitor

Children On The Edge