Company Marketing

The Body Shop was founded by Anita Roddick in 1975. The main concept of the Body Shop is to provide toiletries made up of natural ingredients. Ms. Roddick believes in ethical values and had practiced this to the company. The company had become a model to other companies and as such, many had followed its footsteps in practicing ethical values in the workplace. (European Cosmetic Markets, 2006) The company had started as a small shop located in Brighton England. The product line of the company is consisted of 25 hand-mixed products in a green bottle which could be refilled inside the shop.

After the introduction of these products, Ms. Roddick had wanted to share other different formulas of toiletries to her clients and thus, body shop had become well-known. . (European Cosmetic Markets, 2006). The Body Shop’s mission statement as written in the article from the BLICC (Business Leaders Initiative for Climate Change) Program is as follows: “The Body Shop’s mission statement is the pursuit of social and environmental change, which includes forging a new and more sustainable ethic for business. ” – BLICC Program: Report #1, 2002

As per the mission statement of the Body Shop it can be seen that the company truly believes in practicing social responsibility in the business. II. Marketing Overview The market of the Body Shop is composed of four marketing segments. The marketing segmentation of the company is based on its location in the world map. The segments are the first, the Americas Group, second is the Asia Pacific Group, third is the Europe, Middle East and Africa Group and lastly, the UK and Republic of Ireland Group. As of 2006, segment Europe, Middle East and Africa has the highest sales with the value of ?

218. 4 Million with 779 stores; this is followed by the Asia Pacific segment with the value of ? 211. 8 Million with 605 stores; followed by the Americas with ? 175. 9 Million with 444 stores and lastly by the UK & Republic of Ireland with ? 166 Million with 305 stores. Figure 1 shows the total sales and stores worldwide by region of the body shop. SOURCE: The Body Shop Annual Report, 2006 Retrieved from http://www. researchandmarkets. com/reports/369505/body_shop_international_plc_2006_annual_report Figure 1. Market Segmentation of the Body Shop

Each segment are further divided into the countries where the Body Shop distributes. This would be further discussed in the Marketing Mix of the company. III. Marketing Strategies The company plans to grow through the use of investments. According to the annual report of the company, the investments that the company gets had strengthen the multi-channel growth strategy that the company aims to achieve. The company has three channels of sales; these are the retail stores (company owned and franchise), direct selling and e-commerce. (The Body Shop Annual Report, 2006). The retail stores are the stores located around the globe.

The stores could either be owned by the company or franchised. Direct Selling is the channel that could be called as “Rolling stores” wherein, the agent goes to a certain client and sells their products. Lastly is the E-commerce channel, in this channel the Body shop provides a website wherein the customers orders the products on-line (The Body Shop Annual Report, 2006). The company also plans to expand to other places like Jordan and Russia. Further investment from the company and outside clients for franchises are encouraged by the company to help in the growth of its sales.

Product Innovation is also a part of the company’s strategy for the next year to come. Environment care and testing of products against animals had become a very sensitive issue in the corporate world. The Body Shop had committed its self to provide solutions to the issues at hand. Other strategies of the company include promotion of social responsibility through campaigns against animal testing and recycling. Energy Conversion and Environmental Care are also part of the marketing strategy of the company (The Body Shop Local Consultation Report, 2002). IV.

Marketing Mix The marketing mix is composed of the 4 P’s, the Product, Place, Promotion and Price. This section would discuss the Marketing mix of the Body Shop International. A. Product The products that the company manufactures ever since the company started are toiletries that are made of natural ingredients. Other cosmetic products are made out of synthetic materials and because of the composition of the products of The Body Shop, this had gave the consumers the reason to buy from The Body Shop. When the company started it was only offering 25 kinds of toiletries.

However, in the year 2006, the company offers more that 1,200 products and is still planning on product innovation to serve the needs of the customers. (The Body Shop Annual Report, 2006) B. Place The Market Segmentation of the company is based on the area where the products are sold. As discussed a while ago there are four areas where the company is concentrating on, each area is comprised of the country where the body shop product is being sold into. According to the 2006 report of the body shop, the company sells its products to 54 countries all over the world. (The Body Shop Annual Report 2006).

As a whole, the company distributes is products to 2,133 stores worldwide. Aside from the use of the stores, the company is also using consultants for their direct selling. Direct contact from a consultant to a consumer is done, this is what the company calls “The Body Shop At Home”. Consultants are available through contact from a store and in the internet. As of 2006, the body shop at home can only be availed in all areas except in the Europe, Middles East and Africa. C. Promotion The Body Shop is not the typical company who provides advertisements to magazine or TV. The Body Shop has campaigns which promotes social responsibility.

This in turn becomes a sort of a promotion for the company. The global campaigning runs along the five principles which are “Protect Our Planet, Defend Human Rights, Support Community Trade, Activate Self Esteem and Against Animal Testing”. The body shop had also launched a global campaign regarding domestic violence. (European Cosmetic Markets, 2006). Promotion of the company’s activities based on the five principles and corporate responsibility serves as a promotion of what the company believes in and its products. D. Price Nowadays, many people would rather buy cheaper items than branded items which costs higher.

In order to adapt to the changing times, the company had adapted a “masstige” image of their products. Through product innovation, the company had been able to develop products within affordable prices. The company had used technology in order to create products that is affordable. Several examples of products that had been developed are the Skin Focus Line which is composed of “Re-Texturising Peel, Line Minimiser, Lip Enhancer and Face Illuminator” (European Cosmetic Markets, 2006). This line is promises instant results in the visible improvement of the skin. V. Conclusions and Recommendations

The only peculiar thing in the Body Shop’s marketing structure is the use of promotion. It may be possible that the sales could go up if they would advertise heavily in the media. However, the calling of the company for social responsibility had made them a model company to others. Instead of directly marketing the product, the company advertises with a cause. Every company would like to increase their opportunities to grow. Based on the facts provided in the annual report of The Body Shop in 2006, there are many opportunities for growth. The author of the study proposes that the company give time to the Direct Selling Channel of the company.

Based on the performance improvement of sales, there has been a dramatic change of 14% from the last year. This only shows that the channel had been effective in providing service for The Body Shop’s consumers. The company could also launch the Direct Selling in the Europe Area. The company could start from providing consultants in a few stores. This way the company would be able to check if the Direct Selling would be successful in the Market Segment. After a few period of months if there is a significant change in sales in the part of Europe then it could be then implemented as a full scheme in Europe.

In an article from gcimagazine. com by Donna Barson, it had been stated that there is an increasing male cosmetic market in the industry. As per Euromonitor International, it had been predicted that there would be a surge of 67% in the sales of male cosmetics in the year 2008. Based on this data, the Body Shop can also provide different skin care products that could range from eye creams to shaving cream for the next year.

REFERENCES

European Cosmetics Markets (2006). The Body Shop – Body and Soul. Retrieved last September 28, 2007 from Cosmetics Business.