Corporate Social responsibility Case Study

The Body Shop: Ethical Image At Stake? - A Case Study On L’Oreal’s Takeover Of The Body Shop

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Abstract:
The Body Shop International PLC (Body Shop) is celebrating its 30 years of trading in 2006. Started in 1976 with a single cosmetics store in Brighton, United Kingdom, the company has grown over the period into a substantial global brand retailer. By the end of 2005, Body Shop had 2010 stores serving over 77 million customers per year in 52 different countries across the globe.

Body Shop is an ethically driven company. It promotes nature-inspired cosmetics which are never tested on animals. The company has also initiated Community Trade Programme and recycled and recyclable packaging. It changed the language of business by incorporating the action of social change, especially in human rights, animal welfare and the environment.

On 17th March, 2006, The Body Shop agreed to a £652 million takeover offer by L’Oreal, the French cosmetics giant. L’Oreal was criticised on account of its animal testing policy and use of harmful chemicals in its cosmetics. Hence analysts question whether The Body Shop would be able to retain its ethical image after the takeover.

Pedagogical Objectives:

• To portray the ethical image of a company
• To understand the fate of a company in taken over by a company which is unethical.

Keywords : Corporate Social Responsibility Case Study Body shop, Anita Roddick, ethics, L'Oreal, cosmetics, natural ingredients, animal testing, community trade, takeover, human rights, jojoba oil, ethical consumer, boycott, Gordon Roddick, Nestle