Interviews
Natural & ethical beauty products are the market buzz today
01 Mar '06
4 min read
Buoyant growth in the health & beauty market is expected to continue, with demand for natural and ethical beauty products on the up. Though The Body Shop embodies these ideals, since more competition has arisen in this arena from on all fronts, the retailer has been less successful in recent years than it was throughout the 1980s.
Though it achieved like for-like growth of +6% in its Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa regions during the 44 weeks to 31 December 2005, comparable store sales were up only slightly (+2%) in the UK and down by 1% in the US. This, combined with supply problems in the US, led the retailer to issue a profit warning in January.
L'Oréal would enhance its ethical stance through an inheritance of The Body Shop brand, which could be compared to other such takeovers like McDonald's attempt to raise its ethical reputation with the purchase of Pret A Manger. However, should a deal go through, L'Oréal would also have a global retailer on its hands whose retail focus does not fit in with its traditional focus on brands.
Not only would it be taking over the brand, but also a large mix of standalone and franchised stores all over the world – something L'Oréal has not contended with in the past. It seems that L'Oréal is looking more at retail in its overall strategy but perhaps a smaller retailer would be more reasonable before it purchases a global retailer with lots of baggage.
Founder Anita Roddick will have lots to think about in the days ahead. On one hand, she has reduced her interest in the company to 14% ownership so she may be ready to give in and 'sell-out' to a company that had traditionally stood for everything The Body Shop tried not to be.
Click here to see more details:
Verdict Research Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Datamonitor Plc. Datamonitor plc is a premium business information company specialising in industry analysis. It helps over 5,000 of the world's leading companies, to address complex strategic issues.
Though it achieved like for-like growth of +6% in its Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa regions during the 44 weeks to 31 December 2005, comparable store sales were up only slightly (+2%) in the UK and down by 1% in the US. This, combined with supply problems in the US, led the retailer to issue a profit warning in January.
L'Oréal would enhance its ethical stance through an inheritance of The Body Shop brand, which could be compared to other such takeovers like McDonald's attempt to raise its ethical reputation with the purchase of Pret A Manger. However, should a deal go through, L'Oréal would also have a global retailer on its hands whose retail focus does not fit in with its traditional focus on brands.
Not only would it be taking over the brand, but also a large mix of standalone and franchised stores all over the world – something L'Oréal has not contended with in the past. It seems that L'Oréal is looking more at retail in its overall strategy but perhaps a smaller retailer would be more reasonable before it purchases a global retailer with lots of baggage.
Founder Anita Roddick will have lots to think about in the days ahead. On one hand, she has reduced her interest in the company to 14% ownership so she may be ready to give in and 'sell-out' to a company that had traditionally stood for everything The Body Shop tried not to be.
Click here to see more details:
Verdict Research Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Datamonitor Plc. Datamonitor plc is a premium business information company specialising in industry analysis. It helps over 5,000 of the world's leading companies, to address complex strategic issues.
Verdict Research Ltd.
Popular News
Leave your Comments
Editor’s Pick
Esteemed Clients
-Ltd..jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Thermore (Far East) Ltd.")
.jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Limited (TSllC Ltd)")
.jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Taiwan Textile Federation (TTF)")
