More accurately, the new is that L’Oreal is ‘considering’ selling the Body Shop which it bought for £650m a few years ago. For it to hit the headlines of The Financial Times and be reported on the BBC news, I think we can fairly safely say that the writing is on the wall. The Body Shop Foundation, founded by Anita Roddick and her husband in 1989, to announced its closure at the end of last year and that should have been a red flag that something was very definitely up. The foundation had a declining income (it was primarily funded by The Body Shop) and they failed to reach further funding agreements.
In simple financial terms, the only reason that L’Oreal would consider selling The Body Shop is that it isn’t bringing in expected revenue. But, the more interesting question is why it’s failed to perform under the helm of L’Oreal. Partly, it’s because being animal friendly isn’t a niche any more – tougher legislation around animal testing is across the board, so most brands don’t test on animals these days.
As a consumer and observer, I think L’Oreal plans for Body Shop were just too grand. The simple things that people loved Body Shop for (tangerine things, animal shaped soaps and so on) didn’t get any attention and instead L’Oreal focussed on selling expensive skin care to people who only ever wanted a bottle of Dewberry .I literally don’t know how you convert someone who loves Strawberry Shower Gel to a bottle of Widdringtonia Fragrance. There was a misplaced assumption that the hardcore Body Shop fan could be easily converted to a L’Oreal With A Panda Face fan. Despite some really beautiful new formulations (last year’s face masks, Drops of Youth oil) it just all got too expensive and moved a long way from affordable, feel-good, do-good beauty.
We are short on affordable bath & body products with any points of difference, but we are not in the least short on skin care so I feel more development in the bath and body category would have been wiser. Let me know your thoughts! For all the so called ‘expert’ quotes, consumer opinion is really what counts. L’Oreal has had over 10 years with this brand – where did it go wrong in your view?
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17 comments
I totally agree that they alienated their core customer base and introduced too many expensive products. I’ve pretty much stopped shopping there. Not because I don’t like their products but because I think they have no clear idea of where they sit in terms of target market & budget. I have used TBS products since the early 90’s and I’m a little sad to say I would buy Soap & Glory, LUSH or Superdrug own brand skincare over TBS now.
I’ve been a loyal fan since I was around 8 and as the years have gone on, I’ve become frustrated with their jumping on the L’Oreal trendy bandwaggon and abandoning Anita’s roots. I don’t want fancy, smelly skincare for my face – I want fruity, affordable body products. I don’t give a damn about their makeup, I only ever begrudgingly (£5 for a shower gel, pff) purchase in sales nowadays.
Haven’t shopped there for years. Agree many of the products I used way back long gone. I was never a Body Butter fan. But it will be sad to see it go.
I have actually bought from the bodyshop in the last 12 months than I have in years as I really liked the direction it has gone in but do agree the prices are expensive for what it is, it doesn’t help that you can go online and get 40% discount of the products either. I don’t actually think The bodyshop knows what it should be and is trying to be a bit of everything but at the wrong price point
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Everybody had fond memories of using Body Shop products … in their teen years. I think that’s the most telling bit. The brand’s foundation is built on teenage nostalgia. Not to say it cannot turn profitable mining that nostalgia, but it has to acknowledge the changing landscape. Teens have access to more brands and influencers now. AND, they don’t necessarily shop in-person at high street shops. As a brand, do you want to spend a chunk of budget on renting multiple Oxford Street storefronts?
(At this point, the animal testing bit is no longer a differentiating USP. Hence I’m disregarding it.)
You look at something like Tony Moly which threads the needle on cute + effective whilst balancing high street/online presence. I wonder if the new owners will rethink their stockists.
I’ve been thinking for a while they were on borrowed time – they don’t really seem to fit a particular model. I’d always associated them with amazing bath and body products, back in the day, a lot of them created with Mark Constantine, and their perfume oils, which you could refill. Then they tried to go up a level, with the makeup and more expensive skin care, and discontinued old favourites and stalwarts of the range. I adored the milk bath powder. When I heard the news, I did wonder whether Lush might make some advances towards picking it up as a brand, given Mark Constantine’s previous connection with it.
Accurate summary of the decline of Body Shop in your article. Things I liked were discontinued and the prices were too high. Too much choice of body butters, I could never decide which one to try. (Could you do a poll of which one folks like best?)
The upselling puts me off crossing the threshold. I like the Camomile cleansing butter and could do with some more but can’t face the cashier trying to sell me other stuff when all I want is a quick checkout.
Another brand that seemed to be competing against itself offering online discounts that made me reluctant to buy in store; but unwilling to spend what was necessary to get the discount.
I know things have to evolve to survive but I can’t imagine Anita launching a product called drops of youth.
Everytime I go past a Body Shop with my mum we discuss where it went wrong. It just feels disjointed now.
Sad news! Your post reminded me of many happy hours spent in The Body Shop as a child, wondering which animal soap (whale, obviously), lip balm or body spray (Fuzzy Peach anyone?) to spend my pocket money on! Haven’t been in for years unfortunately 🙁
I loved TBS when Anita Roddick had instilled her philosophy and she did it with truth. L’Oreal just tried to change it into some weird image. I didn’t even step foot in the store after L’Oreal bought it.
I think Whole Foods should buy it. God knows they need help in the dead beauty department! Besides, I don’t think everyone is clamoring to buy their organic $9 aubergine anyway! They need something besides the expensive “healthy” food.
They don’t do sales in Australia though, so I’ve always been jealous of British and American shoppers.
They seem to discontinue every single product I’ve liked in this brand. Frustrating.
I think that Body Shop have become more and more expensive. It has tried to move to the luxury market and I think that was the failure.
Body Shop is unrecognisable now compared to the brand I loved as a teen/20-something in the late 80s and early 90s. Dewberry, White Musk, (in fact the whole perfume oil counter) packets of henna, unfragranced body lotion that you could add your favourite perfume oil to, carrot face cream, coconut shampoo & conditioner, pineapple face wash, taking back empty bottles to be refilled…these are all the things I loved about Body Shop. That quirky, hippyish vibe was so appealing, and I think they would do a roaring trade with us 40 and 50-something ladies wanting to hark back to those days and wallow in a bit of pleasurable nostalgia, if only they hadn’t gone and turned it into something so bland and boring and kind of overpriced for what it is. Really sad.
Exactly my thoughts,loved the oils and hippy vibe.it’s like all the other shops boring
This is interesting. I never liked that L’Oreal bought one of the pioneering brands of cruelty free and ethical beauty, one of the brands that originally piqued my interest in beauty. I definitely miss the old school, nostalgia and cute styling they had with the simple yummy scents and novelty soaps, it’s something that is missing from the high street and would be lovely to see return. I’m not a fan these days overall, although they do still do some good products.
All my hero products from TBS disappeared long ago. I loved the days of aromatherapy oils in small brown dropper bottles, peach shower gel and those perfume oils! Coconut, grass, lavender- all gone sadly. If it went back to its apothecary style roots it would be unique enough to stand out. On a similar vein I still miss Culpepers.