The body Shop strategic analysis

The Body Shop International

CASE ISSUES:

Market Saturation/Loss of Sales (CI#1) - Growth Strategy is no longer working for The Body Shop. Their store growth has diminished since the mid-1990s, and by 2002 the company's profit was shrinking, and sales were not growing proportionally to the rapid expansion of stores. Having entered a retrenchment phase, they need to focus on profitability without rapid expansion.

Is Anita Gone? (CI#2) - Though Anita Roddick stepped down as CEO in 1998, and resigned as Executive Chairman in 2002, it is unclear how much influence she has on day-to-day operations and strategy.

Core Values (CI#3) - By changing top management and governance, The Body Shop runs the risk of losing their identity and their core values. Losing touch with these values could cause a loss of reputation, however, clinging to them above shareholder's value is also detrimental.

Loss of Image (CI#4) - The Body Shop's image seems to be undergoing another makeover.

English: The Body Shop in the Prudential Center, B...

The Body Shop ZoomShop

Typical body shop

With Anita Roddick being at least a less visible member of the organization, The Body shop no longer practices eccentricity for eccentricity's sake. However, changing their image has also meant they have lost their uniqueness among their competitors.

I. CURRENT SITUATION

A. CURRENT PERFORMANCE

The Body Shop achieved an overall solid performance for the year 2004 especially with strong sales in the USA (+ 4%), the Middle East (+4%), the Nordic countries (+4%) and most part of Asia pacific (+2%). However, these encouraging numbers were offset by weak sale in the United Kingdom (-13%), Canada (-10%) and parts of Europe (-7%).

This growth occurred while the growth of stores slowed. This may signal a shift away from the extreme growth model to a focus on quality.

B. STRATEGIC POSTURE

Missions

Ø To dedicate their business to the pursuit of social and environmental...