A sad ‘ownership’ story

It has now been one year since the curtain fell on The Body Shop. The story of this iconic British brand definitively came to an end in Belgium in 2024… Where did it go wrong? ...Their Ownership.

The turning point, in our view, was the failure to sufficiently safeguard the ideals and mission of this organization at the time of its first sale in 2006.

From eco-warrior to…

Until then, eco-warrior, activist, and feminist icon Anita Roddick had found the perfect balance between entrepreneurship and activism since 1972: ‘using business as a force for good.’ The Body Shop had already been campaigning in the 1980s, collaborating with NGOs like Greenpeace. It became one of the leading examples of Social Entrepreneurship.

For Sale

But in 2006, she sold The Body Shop to L'Oréal for around £650 million. A very surprising, controversial move and, above all, not in line with the mission. This French cosmetics giant had a very poor reputation regarding animal testing. After 11 years in the hands of L'Oréal, it was sold to the Brazilian multinational Natura&Co, and in 2023, to private equity firm Aurelius.

However, the sharp edges, the unique value proposition, and the relentless impact focus gradually faded. In my opinion, the soul of The Body Shop somewhat died with the sale of the company.

And that is exactly where the problem lies. What if we could structure Ownership differently? What if we could keep the Body Shops of the future out of the hands of shareholder value maximization logic? Anchoring the mission through Steward-Ownership?

What a missed opportunity.

Imagine if mission-aligned stewards could take the helm of an organization. And in doing so, ensure that the soul of founders like Anita Roddick could live on within the company.

We estimate that with Steward-Ownership, an organization like The Body Shop might have taken a different course… and perhaps still be creating impact today…

Yet, The Body Shop deserves to be called a groundbreaking company. For many decades, it made a significant impact in the sector and pushed the industry’s major players to transform.
But it ended on a low note. An avoidable struggle. Although in some countries, the company has already made a limited restart after bankruptcy.

Many companies offering sustainable (eco/vegan/natural) products are, in a way, indebted to The Body Shop, and especially to Anita Roddick.
What a missed opportunity.

It's only a fine line between
“using business as a force for good”
and
“the only business of business is business”…

Anita Roddick