The Body Shop expands, hones image

Drug Store News, June 25, 2001

NEW YORK -- On the heels of a national expansion program, The Body Shop is getting a facelift to generate renewed interest in its brand, according to David Bellemy, vice president of real estate and store design for the company.

The specialty skin, hair, bath and cosmetics retailer will open 20 new stores this year, with a new format running between 1,200 square feet and 1,500 square feet--existing floor plans are roughly 900 square feet-to accommodate the company. A new merchandise mix that will vary by season, explained director of marketing Derek Swenson. "The larger foot-print and promotional fixturing will allow us to 'hero-merchandise' key items and help to make them stand out from the rest of the assortment as 'must-haves,"' he said.

Thirty existing stores will also be refurbished with the new look. The first relocated store--one located here in midtown Manhattan on Lexington Avenue--was moved just a few blocks south to its new location.

"We wanted to be south of Blooming dales," Bellemy said, because it's a high traffic area. This store was the sixth to open under the new design, which the chain began rolling out late last year. As part of the grand reopening festivities at the new Bloomingdales-area store, customers could get a free 10-minute massage, free makeovers and free sample-size products.

In the store, "we will look to have key items featured on a new back-lit promotional fixture that uses over sized brand graphics to communicate our core values," Swanson added. For example, The Body Shop's Nut Body Butter contains actual Brazil nuts, while Aromatherapy Body Salt Scrubs include Shea butter.

And to drive home the chain's all-natural positioning at the point of sale, as a backdrop to the roughly 700 SKUs The Body Shop merchandises at a time, hemp curtains are replacing common textile fibers such as flax or cotton.

For the new and relocated stores, a lighter green color scheme will prevail overall, though the company's signature dark green remains a part of the marquis storefront. The Body Shop wants to maintain a connection to the original shop Anita Roddick opened 25 years ago in Brighton, England. In early June, The Body Shop confirmed it had entered talks to sell its 1,840 retail stores to Grupo Omnilife, a Mexican nutritional supplement maker. According to various reports, the health and beauty specialty retail chain would command a pricetag of an estimated $420 million to $500 million.

The new footprint also features a frees-tanding sink positioned toward the front of the store to encourage consumer trial. A bamboo floor is also part of the new look, in lieu of the company's traditional ceramic or marble flooring. New wall shelving units make use of Parallam-engineered lumber.

New product offerings this year will include Skin Re Leaf, a kinetin-based skin care line of five items--two for the face, two for the eye, and a hand treatment. Kinetin is an antioxidant that helps prevent skin cell breakdown caused by free radical damage, the company explained. The line retails between $15 and $25. Face and eye treatments come in an illuminating and non-illuminating formula; the illuminating formula adds a glow to the skin.

The company also introduced a new high-end fragrance line in time for Mother's Day--Indian Gardenia. The six-SKU collection retails between $6 for Reshma Bath Soap to $35 for the Sheereen Sugar Scrub--the most expensive item in the store. Each item in the fragrance line derives its name from Eastern Indian culture. Reshma, for example, is Hindi for "silk in a smooth sense." The Indian Gardenia line will also be re-promoted this fall and during the holiday season.