Body Shop

Introduction

There is success in body care. Behold the Body Shop, one of the famous international cosmetics brand. It is not just one's ordinary shop for body or hair care. It is extraordinary just as its pioneer. The entrepreneur assessed in this paper is in no way or another connected to me.

Personal Profile

The name behind the Body Shop, a famous cosmetic line for decades now, is Anita Roddick. On October 23, 1942 in Littlehampton, Sussex, England marks her birth to an immigrant Italian family. After completing her degree at the Newton Park College of education, she worked as a part-time teacher and for the United Nations in Geneva. She traveled to different places like Tahiti, New Hebrides, New Caledonia, Reunion, Madagascar, Mauritius, Australia, and Johannesburg. Her fascination with the women she encountered in these places became an episodic event in her life. It later formulated her tale of success. As stated in Lessem and Palsule (1999), she was mesmerized by the organic products that women in the Polynesian islands use to nurture their bodies. Then, she went back to England and married a Scotsman poet and traveler named Gordon Roddick in 1971. Five years later, the Body Shop was born.

The Body Shop started out in the same area where Roddick grew up. It was just a small shop painted with green. Its products were just placed in little recycled bottles while its labels were just handwritten. All of which was to lessen production costs. Through the years, the body care business developed hand in hand with political causes.

Dame Roddick, as how she is referred to now, has been acclaimed for many things. She has been London's Business Woman of the Year in 1985. She has received an Order of the British Empire in 1988. In 1988, she has been the Communicator of the Year, and Retailer of the Year. She has been the United Nation's "Global 500" Environmental award. On the other hand, the Body Shop brand has been regarded as the second most trusted brand in the UK according to the Consumers Association. As said by the 1997 Interbrand survey criteria, it is known to be the top 28 brand in the world, and ranks second in the retail sector. The International Chief Executives in the Financial Times conducted a survey in 1998 and found Body Shop to be the 27th most respected company in the world (The Body Shop International. Available at [http://www.thebodyshopinternational.com/web/tbsgl/about.jsp]. [Accessed 30/05/2006]).

The Body Shop is aged 30 this year, 2006. From a small and simple shop, it has grown into a multinational company, though she prefers Body