The reputation of the Body Shop is starting to suffer as a result of its sale to French cosmetics giant L'Oreal.
Animal rights campaigners called for a boycott of the cosmetics chain after Body Shop founder Dame Anita Roddick agreed to sell the company to the French firm for £652.3 million.
Following the announcement last month, green campaigner Dame Anita rejected criticism that the Body Shop, based in Littlehampton, was getting into bed with "the enemy" because L'Oreal had not abandoned animal testing.
She said the sale was a chance to strike a fairer deal for the world's poor as L'Oreal wanted the Body Shop to teach it about community trade.
However, a BrandIndex rating measured by YouGov, showed the Body Shop's "buzz" rating and "satisfaction" scores have dropped significantly.
Its "buzz" rating has dropped ten points to minus four since the beginning of March, the public's "general impression" of it is down three to 19 and "satisfaction" has slumped 11 points to 14.
YouGov's BrandIndex is a daily measure of public perception of more than 1,100 consumer brands.
Dame Anita borrowed £3,000 from friend Iain McGlinn to set up the first store in Brighton 30 years ago. The Body Shop now has 2,000 stores in 54 countries.
Dame Anita and her husband Gordon Roddick will bank about £117.4 million from their 18 per cent stake following the sale.
The Body Shop declined to comment on its sales.
Monday, April 10, 2006
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