The Body Shop Report: Marketing Strategies, Environment, and Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive marketing analysis of The Body Shop, a leading eco-friendly cosmetics brand. It begins with an executive summary and table of contents, followed by an introduction detailing the company's history, mission, and market position. The report then delves into Task 1, which explores the importance of understanding consumer needs, wants, and demands, and how The Body Shop utilizes a multilevel marketing network. Task 2 examines the marketing environment, including macro-environmental factors like social and environmental influences, and a detailed competitor analysis, comparing The Body Shop to competitors like Lush. Finally, Task 3 focuses on the marketing mix, outlining the company's strategies. The report concludes with a summary of key findings and references.

Running head: THE BODY SHOP
THE BODY SHOP
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1THE BODY SHOP
Executive Summary
The given report is based on the company, The Body Shop. The company is a leading eco-
friendly cosmetics brands in the United Kingdom. The report follows a structured format
whereby the different aspects of the organization with respect to the marketing and related
strategies have been discussed adequately. The report discusses the three tasks and provides
adequate theory and examples with the same. A conclusion wraps the report.

2THE BODY SHOP
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Task 1: Needs, Wants and Demands...............................................................................................4
Part a............................................................................................................................................4
Part B...........................................................................................................................................5
Task 2: Marketing Environment......................................................................................................5
Part A: Relevance of an organization analyzing the marketing environment............................5
Part B: Macro environmental factors...........................................................................................6
Part C: Competitor Analysis........................................................................................................7
Part D...........................................................................................................................................8
Part E...........................................................................................................................................9
Task 3: Marketing Mix..................................................................................................................10
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................11
References......................................................................................................................................12

3THE BODY SHOP
Introduction
The Body Shop International Limited is British perfumes skin care and cosmetics
company which was started by Anita Roddick in the year 1976. She started the company by
mixing her own products and altering the look with a new idea which could go a long way in
assisting the business to perform well. Her vision is being followed by the company religiously
and this has gone a long way in assisting the organization to become what it is today
(Thebodyshop.com. 2018). The company has 2000 stores currently in 66 countries and more than
20000 customers work for the brand.
The Unique selling point about the company is that it looks out to send one of the finest
and ethically sourced ingredients in order to create products which are natural in nature and tend
to have a positive impact on the image of the company. The primary purpose of the brand is to
enrich their products and help the planet. They run on a community trade program and are 100%
vegetarian and have strong laws against animal testing. Primarily based in East Croydon and
Hamptons, the company is currently owned by the cosmetics giant Natura. Earlier 2006 to 2017,
the company was owned by L’Oréal and was sold to Natura in 2017 for a deal of £880 million.
For any company to be successful in the long run of the business, it is very crucial for it
to ensure that it is successfully able to address the needs of the business environment and design
the products accordingly (Lasserre 2017). The report follows a structured format whereby the
external environmental factors relating to the Body Shop will be analyzed followed by the
marketing mix strategy as adopted by the organization. The importance of understanding
consumer needs shall also be highlighted.

4THE BODY SHOP
Task 1: Needs, Wants and Demands
Part a
Any business enterprise which is looking out to find success in the long term of the
business needs to ensure that it follows and conducts a systematic conduct of the customers and
their requirements. Understanding the needs, wants and demands of the customers is essentially
crucial because of the given stated reasons.
The needs may be described as the basic demand as made by the different consumers and
shall go a long way in helping the company to achieve its basic targets set if it is successfully
able to fulfill the needs (Martinsuo 2013). The wants can be described as the product which is
desired by the consumer. In case a company is able to fulfill the wants of the customers, it will
be able to create a successful image of itself in the eyes of the consumers and uplift the image of
the brand as well.
Lastly, the demands are the additional needs made by the consumers and in this case the
consumer is willing to buy a need or a want then he or she can be stated to have a demand for the
given need or the want.
In order for the business to be successful in the long run, it is crucial to understand the
want of the customer and make their wants available (Boone and Kurtz 2013). An in depth
knowledge is the main need which comprises of more than just knowing their age and incomes,
but is also crucial to understand what their tastes and interests are.
The companies who possess knowledge about the needs and desires of the client tend to
work towards customizing the experience of the customers and foster loyalty. In such a scenario,

5THE BODY SHOP
the customer feedback goes a long way in taking advantage to outwit the competitors and to
build a strong consumer relationship.
Part B
It is popularly known that the Body shop Company follows and adopts a multilevel
marketing network. This means that the company sells its products to the different consumers at
the convenience of their homes. This program is known as the body shop direct and first began in
Australia (Merat and Bo 2013). These customers were being targeted online by the company and
understood that the target market needs to be set out clearly.
The company has witnessed massive growth and is present in more than 60 countries by
offering a range of products which are more than 1200 in number. The company has followed a
strategy of sustainable business relationships with the different communities and satisfies their
needs in a fair method. The company has been able to successfully make a suitable business and
has been able to convince the different customers to buy the natural products (Czinkota and
Ronkainen 2013). In the late 1990s the company’s marketing strategy underwent a huge change
and the company began to form a new positioning strategy as ell which helped it to fight its
competition like that from Lush cosmetics.
Task 2: Marketing Environment
Part A: Relevance of an organization analyzing the marketing environment
Any organization does not function alone. It is a social entity and for this reason it is
required to ensure that it assesses the external environment before it makes any changes in its
operations. This is because the external environment of the business tends to comprise of various
factors which can have a direct impact on the business. These factors may be of several types

6THE BODY SHOP
including Political, social, economic, technological, and legal and environment. Analyzing the
marketing environment is very crucial for the business specially that of Body Shop because it
assists in helping the company to analyze such factors which it can then incorporate in its
strategy (Kalkan and Bozkurt 2013). A knowledge of these factors will assist the business in
forming plans for the future of the organization.
Body shop needs to be aware of the different trends in the beauty industry as well as their
associated environmental impacts so as to ensure that it can try form strategies which will then
assist them in combating against these strategies.
Part B: Macro environmental factors
The analysis of the external environment of the business plays a key role in
understanding what strategies would be best suitable for the organization and how the chosen
organization will ensure that it has adequate preparation in order to deal with these factors
(Johnson 2016). Given below are the Environment as well as social factors which might have an
impact on the business operations of Body Shop:
Social Factors
The lifestyle of a consumer plays a crucial role in determining the products used by the
customers and also contribute towards the understanding of whether the lifestyle guides the
purchase or not. There have been various lifestyle changes like the increase in various
environmental as well as social issues. The customers have become more conscious and hence,
the customers want to make a conscious decision (Hair Jr and Lukas 2014). The customers

7THE BODY SHOP
generally make purchases from companies who have policies of sourcing products and different
raw materials through fair trade and sustainability methods.
Environmental Factors
The environment and its welfare has become a growing source of concern for all the
individuals and people present in the society as well. For this reason various environmental
protection laws are passed down (Armstrong et al. 2015). There are various laws related to the
testing of different products on various animals. Furthermore, there have been various laws
related to the consumption of energy as well. Hence, the energy can be stated to be a useful
concern and hence, a business like the Body shop needs to look out for these laws.
Part C: Competitor Analysis
A competitor analysis can be described as a tool which is used by the business to analyze
the different competitors as present in the organization. In the competitor analysis, the different
factors with respect to which the consumers make decisions based on the different brands are
analyzed effectively and the point of differentiation is identified (Malhotra and Peterson 2014).
These different points of differentiation may be the number of stores which exists, prices at
which the goods are sold and the benefits along with the quality of products being offered by the
company.
Body Shop is facing severe competition from the Lush Company which functions on a
similar business model as that of the former company. Understanding the success factors of the
Lush brand will help Body Shop in improving its operations. Hence, the competitor analysis can
be described as a relevant tool with respect to this and for this reason, it is quite relevant to the
company.

8THE BODY SHOP
Part D
Point of Distinction/
Company
Lush Weleda Yves Rocher
Number of Stores The Lush brand has
105 stores in the
United Kingdom and
more than 900 stores
in other 49 countries
The brand has 235
stores in total
There are more than
500 stores around the
United Kingdom and
in France
Quality Lush provides hand
made products and it
is one of the best
brands available in
the given industry
(De Mooij 2013)
Provides good quality
products to the
different consumers.
There have been
several complaints
with respect to the
quality of services as
provided by the
company.
Price The prices are
generally ranged
quite high.
The prices are
generally ranged
quite high.
The prices are
generally ranged
quite high.
Benefits The products of the
company provide
good benefits to the
customers like good
health and healthy
The products of the
company provide
good benefits to the
customers like good
health and healthy
The products of the
company provide
good benefits to the
customers like good
health and healthy

9THE BODY SHOP
skin. skin. skin.
Products Offered The Lush brand tends
to offer a wide range
of products which
cover skincare and
body care as well.
The company
provides just skin
care products
(Jarzabkowski and
Kaplan 2015)
Only skin care
products are available
with the brand.
Social media
presence
The company has a
good social media
presence.
The company has
adequate social media
presence
The company does
not have a strong
social media
presence.
Market Position The brand is the
second most popular
brand present in the
country.
It’s the third most
popular brand as
present in the society.
It is not a very
popular brand
present.
Part E
Key findings
Hence, from the given analysis the company needs to keep an eye out for the Lush
Cosmetic brand. This means that the business model of Lush Cosmetics is highly similar to that
of The Body Shop. Hence, The Body Shop needs to look out for the factors like the Quality of
the products being offered, the Price of the products, the Social media presence and the
marketing position of the brand.

10THE BODY SHOP
Task 3: Marketing Mix
Marketing strategy tends to play a crucial role in the business and it is very important for
any business to ensure that its key Marketing Mix strategies are always in place. Given below is
the marketing strategy of the company in the form of the 4ps (Hubbard, Rice and Galvin 2014).
It can be stated that the company is primarily based on the image of being healthy and
very ecofriendly. A majority of the marketing of the company is done online after assuming the
fact that environmentalists do not read the newspapers.
Product
The product strategy being followed by the company are production of daily essentials
with exclusive ingredients which increase the value of the goods. The products comprise of
shaving, hair, face care, accessories, body and Eau de Toilettes (Hill, Jones and Schilling 2014).
The company engages in extensive research to understand the relationship between market and
product demand. The company uses bigger packages and the customers have limited options to
select from.
Price
The process of the products at the Body shop are generally kept higher than its
competitors because the goods being offered by the company are very unique. Hence, a premium
pricing strategy has been applied. As the products are ethical and ecofriendly, the packaging as
well makes the product price high. A differentiation prevails, the target market includes people
who are stable financially and thus, the demand remains strong.
Place

11THE BODY SHOP
The Body shop has various outlets and makes a majority of its sales using the physical
outlets. There exists a home scheme as well which assists in selling the products over the
internet. The company has made a considerable online presence and as the channel is saturated,
the clients find it easier to shop online (Ginter, Duncan and Swayne 2018).
Promotion
Google ads, flyers and other creative channels like Periodicals are used to promote the
products, Very often promotion also takes place through gifts and other gifts to certain female
members.
Conclusion
Therefore, from the given analysis it can be stated that the Marketing Plan of a business
is very crucial to its success and all businesses need to ensure that they market their products
well in the chosen area. The report highlighted the importance of individual need, want and
desire followed by the external environmental analysis. The third section discussed about the
market strategy as adopted by the organization.
Hence, it can be stated that all the aspects of the business need to be reviewed carefully in
order to ensure the business is able to prosper.