bsl

The body shop international PLC

Situation: Body shop was built not as a profit generating entity but as an organization to make a social change in the world; ethics and social concerns formed the backbone of this company. The case questions it was still true with the body shop and refers to how the company had deviated from its original path of ethics.

Anita Roddick started the Body shop in London in 1976 and by 1977 it had a number of shops in London. The BSI adopted a very different approach to business and was not like any of the other Cosmetics firms. BSI believed that ads created needs that didn’t exist and so none of the BSI products were advertised. It was against using testing products on animals and supported various social groups from PETA to groups supporting the Kurds, Tibetans etc. By 1991 it had expanded to the US and had around 40 shops in various metropolitan cities. Both in the US and UK, it faced severe competition but dominated in its niche business of organi...