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She is a member of the Demos think tank's advisory council.
People stubs
BIOGRAPHY OF ANITA RODDICK
Anita Roddick was born in Little Hampton in 1942, to an Italian immigrant couple. She describes herself as being “a natural outsider, and I was drawn to other outsiders and rebels. James Dean was my schoolgirl idol. I also had a strong sense of moral outrage, which was awakened when I found a book about the Holocaust at the age of ten.”
On leaving school she trained as a teacher and embarked on a working trip round the world. On her return her mother introduced her to Gordon Roddick. They made an instant bond and opened a restaurant together followed by a hotel. They married in 1970 with one child already and another on the way.
Anita opened the first Body Shop in 1976, with no training or experience, to make money for herself and her two daughters, while her husband was trekking across America. She opened her second shop 6 months later when her husband returned and from there the business took off.
THE SUCCESS OF ANITA RODDICK
Anita Roddick says “Nobody talks of entrepreneurship as survival, but that's exactly what it is and what nurtures creative thinking. Running that first shop taught me business is not financial science, it's about trading: buying and selling. It's about creating a product or service so good that people will pay for it.
“I am aware that success is more than a good idea. It is timing too. The Body Shop arrived just as Europe was going 'green',” says Anita Roddick. The Body Shop reuses, refills and recycles as much as possible, (something Anita picked up from her mother during wartime,) and is famous for its naturally inspired skin and hair care products. Vitamin E Moisture Cream, Banana Shampoo and the Tea Tree Oil range are just some of The Body Shop’s bestsellers. During her travels, Anita was exposed to the body rituals from women all round the world, which filled her with ideas for her own business. The Body Shop was responsible for bringing previously unheard of materials, such as aloe vera, jojoba oil, rhassoul mud, cocoa butter and many more, to the high street. It was individualities such as these, which made The Body Shop so successful.
The Body Shop says, “We believe that business is primarily about human relationships.” It believes that the more it listens to its stakeholders and involves them in decision-making, the better the business will run. At one point in the 1980s, 2 new Body Shops were opened every month. Anita Roddick believes “businesses have the power to do good.” That's why The Body Shop's Mission Statement begins ‘To dedicate our business to the pursuit of social and environmental change.’ Anita Roddick has involved herself, and the body shop, in countless campaigns such as the Sweatshop Labour and workers' rights in Free Trade Zones, stop the dumping of toxic waste in North Sea (Green peace) and Acid Rain pollution (Friends of the Earth.)
ACHIEVEMENTS OF ANITA RODDICK
The greatest achievement of Anita Roddick is, of course, the starting up of The Body Shop.
Today, 28 years on from when the first Body Shop was opened, there are 1980 stores, serving over 77 million customers, in fifty different markets, in 25 different languages and across 12 time zones! Pretty impressive for a shop started only to make money for a woman and her daughters while her husband was away!
Today The Body Shop is the 27th most respected company in the world due to its environmentally friendly approach to marketing and its involvement in various campaigns for a better world. It was voted the second most trusted brand in the UK and 28th top brand in the world. It is estimated that the body shop sells a product every 0.4 seconds! Now that is something to be proud of!