MANAGEMENT

Strategic Management: The Body Shop International PLC

Strategic Management: The Body Shop International PLC

Company Overview

The Body Shop International PLC is the original, natural and ethical beauty brand, with over 2,500 stores in over 60 markets worldwide. The Body Shop (TBS) is now a wholly owned subsidiary of L'Oreal and operates independently within the L'Oreal Group. Their five core values are: Support Community Fair Trade, Defend Human Rights, Against Animal Testing, Activate Self-Esteem, and Protect Our Planet (TBS, 2011).

Internal Environment

The body shop have organized workshops for highlighting the importance of green environment, The Body shop have always organize workshops for overcoming the challenges of Pollution and making Earth Green. Most of their Advertisement also depicts their mission attribute for protecting planet and eradicating or reducing pollution. (BODY SHOP (FIRM). 2003 Pp.177-198) The products of the company are environmentally friendly. It would not be wrong to suggest that Anita Roddick is the pioneer of the now fashionable concept of green marketing and green production. It is she who supported the production and marketing of sustainable products. She was a great entrepreneur who died in the year 2007. The company still continues to follow the legacy of the founder and has come to focus all the more on promoting environmental friendly production. The business model of the company in itself can be considered a contribution to the society.

The company faced many conflicts in its life span. These conflicts were internal as well as external, but mostly they were external. The first controversy to be associated with The Body Shop was published through an article in the Business Ethics magazine. Jon Entine (1994) published that The Body Shop was too good to be true. This controversy dropped the demand for The Body Shop by 50% (Jonge 2008, p. 3). The value of the 'Shares that defy gravity' also dropped considerably. The major reason for this decline was the fact that the company was viewed as a model when it came to social responsibility. The news came as a shock to many people.

Anita Roddick was blamed to have stolen not only the name but also the concept of The Body Shop which was formed in 1970 by Jane Saunders and Peggy Short (Margolis & Walsh 2003, p. 268). Theirs was a perfume store that was made from natural products and where customers could decide what proportion of different perfumes they wanted to be blended together. The articles published in various magazines also suggested that Anita's story of travelling around the world and getting the inspiration had been a false one and was essentially made up.

Not only this, the products were also blamed for carrying preservatives and other ingredients that were hazardous for health and skin. The claim that the company gave a proportion of its profits to the charity was also rendered fake and false. Its philanthropic activities were disregarded considering the many lies that the founder Anita Roddick had told and the deception of the management. As a result, many franchises filed claims against ...