CASE Studythe Body Shop PDF

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CASE STUDY THE BODY SHOP - GROWTH AND DECLINE OF THE BRAND

Select and comment the more relevant phases of “The Body Shop” blue ocean strategy and the following loss of the competitive advantage

Let’s start by defining what the ‘’Blue Ocean Strategy’’ essentially is. This type of strategy is based on the simultaneous pursuit of differentiation and low cost to open up a new market space and create new demand. It is about creating and capturing uncontested market space, thereby making the competition irrelevant. The initial success of the green-based products The Body Shop was originated by the marketing scheme of the Blue Ocean Strategy, which was based on the combination of the cosmetics industry and a set of values such as fair community trade and protecting the environment, which led them to be considered as a company with a high corporate social responsibility in a industry where these values were not calculated or even taken into consideration. The well-being of the client and the green way of using resources and making their skincare products were the main concerns of the company. These core values were marketed and advertised making them the ‘’staples’’ of the brand. Even though the brand was highly successful in the first years, the prices of their items weren’t all that: they in fact were quite high, but that didn’t cause any constrasts to the popularity of the brand at all, until other company started to use ethically sourced ingriedients at a much lower price. That was the start downfall of the brand. The founders of TBS entered in an unexplored space creating their own game and setting new rules making the competition irrelevant. The brand was built around five values: opposition to animal testing, community trade, self-esteem, human rights, and protection of the planet. The owners of The Body Shop actively participated in community and charity events. They made the name of the brand known by advertisng not only their products but the way they were made: with natural, green ethically sourced ingredients, as if their motto was ‘’au naturel’’. Another important key element of the initial success of the brand was its collaboration with non-profits organizations such as Greenpeace and the support of organizations that actively worked in order to better peoples human rights in third world countries. This, other than doing good for the world community with their support, it was also a great business move in the sense that the brand became more appealing to the potential costumers by giving the image of an activist brand. The acquisition by the company L’Oreal was not the greatest business move, since it deteriorated its name and its core values by being accused of testing their products on animals, going the opposite way of what they preached for years. This scandal was not something that was easy to recover from. It took a year of deep thinking, some risky business moves and a new and younger management and CEO in order to come back to a decent state of success. The Body Shop was able to regain some control in the the beauty industry by lowering a bit their prices, making new lines of skincare products; even though it never went back to its original state of success. The Body Shop is still a staple of green and natural beauty and health, since their shops are everywhere, their social media presence is well seen and influencers still partner up with the brand.

The Company still has a long way to go, but it’s on its road to its original success. But this can be only achieved by risking more by spending less on advertising and making it more about the client in order to create demand and not chase it....