The Body Shop - the end is nigh or revival in sight?
I shared my thoughts with TheIndustry.fashion & TheIndustry.beauty
“It’s a surprise to see The Body Shop appoint administrators so soon after it was acquired, but there may be a silver lining to the future of this iconic brand. By appointing administrators, the business will be pulled apart, assets may be sold and some of the more profitable areas of the business will be left to be focused on. We have seen this done with high-street names such as Wilko and Made.com recently, where the brands live on but under different management and ways of retailing to the customer. There could also be the opportunity to sell the brand name and IP similarly to what we saw with Paperchase and Hunter last year.
The Body Shop is a heritage brand but no longer has the ‘cool’ factor it did in the 70s and 80s. When it launched, The Body Shop was way ahead of the trends and for decades afterwards, but as the market evolved and brands overtook The Body Shop, it lost its point of difference. There are now numerous brands with ethical values, and truly, all brands must have ethics and a mission as part of their business for success in the future market.
Ultimately, The Body Shop needs to invest in further developing its point of difference to succeed. Remodelling the business will only take it so far. It has already been left behind in the market, customers are not engaged compared to other brands, it needs to create an emotive connection with customers again. The only way is to reposition itself in a swiftly evolving market, as well as focus on a unique customer experience that gives customers a reason to enter their shops or shop online.
I don’t think this is the last we will see of The Body Shop, but it needs to operate, look, feel and act very differently to survive."
👇Share in the comments - do you think it’s possible to revive The Body Shop in a new format or this marks the end of the road?
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Founder / Creative Director / CEO
1moThank you so much for your taking the time to speak with me!!