Case Analysis Of The Body Shop

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The Body Shop has been successfully trading in the body care and cosmetics industry since 1976, when the first store was founded by Dame Anita Roddick in Brighton, England. It has continued to grow since, becoming an international brand that trades in over 50 countries. The brand is well known for using raw ingredients, its fair trade and for being against animal testing.
The company began to struggle in 2002 when sales growth in the UK flatlined and this worsened over the following two years (Barnes, 2004). The Body Shop has adjusted its visual identity and brand positioning over the years to try and improve brand equity. This audit is going to establish the company’s current standing and will include recommendations such as a product extension …show more content…

She has two children and a husband and she works part time. She has very little time to spare in her busy schedule of work and taking care of her family but when she does get some time to herself she likes to indulge in using products that she has purchased from The Body Shop for example, body butter, bath gels, scents and moisturisers. When it is her time to relax she likes to make the most of it. She also purchases products from The Body Shop for her children as she knows that the products will be kind to their skin. The Mineral foundation is perfect for her teenage daughter who is suffering with acne, although it is a lot more expensive than other foundations she knows it will be good for her skin and won’t make it worse. The Body Shop is also a perfect place to buy birthday and Christmas gifts for friends and family.
Consumer Insight – ‘I have little time to spare to take care of myself as I am constantly busy, juggling work and family life. When I find time for myself I like to spend a little bit more money and time using products that will make me look and feel good’

Brand Positioning
Unilever’s brand key model has been applied below to establish the brand positioning of The Body Shop however it appears with a few changes. Unilever’s original model includes a section titled, discriminator. In the model below this has been changed to points of difference as this is a more suitable way …show more content…

Market reposition. It seems that The Body Shop is currently failing to attract the younger generation of consumers. This is perhaps because their prices are too high or because they are just not using the right promotion techniques to attract them. Taking this into account the second recommendation is to use celebrity endorsement to attract younger customers. L’Oreal currently has a wide range of celebrities that they use to promote their products including Cheryl Cole. This could not only be used to attract younger consumers to The Body Shop but it will also be an effective way to increase the awareness of the brands values which is one of their key challenges.

Tactical
The tactical recommendations are based on the first strategic recommendation, brand extension for the children’s market. The marketing mix has been applied below to this new brand of products to establish where they will be placed and how.
Product – Children’s body care and skin care products including all the essential products for consumers with babies, including baby wipes, the most important product bought by 85% of parents with children aged 0-4 (Libby, 2014).
All products:
• Baby Wipes
• Body washes
• Soaps

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