mardi 11 septembre 2007

Anita Roddick, R.I.P.

Anita Roddick, head of the Body Shop empire, passed away yesterday at the age of 64.

This lady knew a little something about branding, PR, and the importance of good corporate citizenship, I tell ya. And while her angelic aura became somewhat tainted over time, as her critics accused her of misrepresenting the extent to which her products were indeed environmentally friendly and attacked her for selling her empire to L'Oréal, I'd venture to say that, all in all, her public image remains quite strong to this day. It'll be interesting to see how her legacy will be defined in the coming days and years.

Quote from her obituary:

She regarded the fact that Body Shop had no marketing department as some sort of moral statement, yet with her as its public face it never needed one.

According to Wikipedia : By 2004, the Body Shop had 1980 stores, serving over 77 million customers throughout the world. The Body Shop was voted the second most trusted brand in the United Kingdom and 28th top brand in the world.

Obituary here

Audio of her last interview with the Daily Telegraph here

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