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AIBU?

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Original poster

To wonder what happened to Body Shop?

437 replies

Handbaghag · 26/08/2019 17:46

Where have they gone wrong? Why are their shops so dead on the high Street. They were buzzing in the 80s. Is it online shopping? Lush?

OP posts:
gemmagilbert · 27/08/2019 21:56

Anyway, I wasn't commenting to defend the company, that's not my job.

I was just sticking up for those of us who work with a MLM. Trying to let people know its not as evil as it seems!

Xx

gemmagilbert · 27/08/2019 21:56

@IcedPurple why's that? Xx

IcedPurple · 27/08/2019 21:58

Because they are mostly PR schemes intended to deflect attention away from business practices a company would rather you didn't focus on. That's why.

gemmagilbert · 27/08/2019 22:02

@IcedPurple if I always assumed companies were lying I would feel pretty sad.

I just like the company I work with, if that makes me naive then so be it. Xx

Geraniumpink · 27/08/2019 22:03

The giving to charity doesn’t impress me in the least. I do buy only cruelty free. I like fair trade. But I am after a budget friendly product that does the job.
Many companies have an ethical side.
Primark does sustainable cotton pyjamas and brown paper bags.

IcedPurple · 27/08/2019 22:04

if I always assumed companies were lying I would feel pretty sad.

Suit yourself.

gemmagilbert · 27/08/2019 22:06

@Geraniumpink I think a lot of companies are going that way which is great. Xx

Geraniumpink · 27/08/2019 22:17

It’s nice that companies are responding to their customers’ concerns. And it’s great to have some more choice about what to buy as a result.
I still want those plastic bottle return machines though- they’ve had them in Germany for years!

Hairsprayqueeen · 27/08/2019 22:24

I stopped after they sold to l'oreal and haven't ever gone back. I miss Ananya and dewberry! But as others have said their products just dont stand out to me now.

Writersblock2 · 27/08/2019 22:54

I stopped going to BS when they sold out too. Tbh, now I avoid them (and try not to shop in store with Lush, despite loving the products) because I’m sick to death of being harassed by very fake shop assistants. No, I don’t want your help, you asked me once, kindly fuck off and do some work. And no, I don’t want you to rub any product into my hand, and yes, I’ve been using this long before you hit puberty so I don’t need you to give me spiel about how to use it.

I do think retail harassment is one of the reasons people shop online. Yes, we choose online because of the variety and price but I do think we’d be more inclined to pop into highstreet shops despite this IF it was a pleasant experience. It isn’t.

Swellerellamoo · 27/08/2019 23:02

I was frankly horrified when a shop assistant at Lush started rubbing cream on my hand, unasked. Horrendous.

Dontsweatthelittlestuff · 27/08/2019 23:04

The only thing wrong with the return 5 bottles for a £5 credit is bs only accept 5 bottles per day per person. I want to be able to return as many bottles as I want. I don’t want to have to make 2 trips into town on two separate days and pay 2 lots of parking.

I have a friends who does the Body Shop At Home and she will give the pound credit for any bottle returned to her and yet even the bs reps only get to return 5 bottles a day. I often get my regular stuff from her as it saves me the trip to town and she doesnt do the mlm bot stuff. It is all kept off her regular Facebook page as well. I don’t think she makes masses from it but I think it pays for her own bs addiction and a bit of pocket money.

SinisterBumFacedCat · 27/08/2019 23:12

They reduced the variety and pimped up the packaging, also getting rid of the perfume bar was a big mistake. Also you can’t walk in their without being jumped on by a sales assistant brandishing a basket for all your many purchases.

Mind you, Superdrug is now fucking itself up the arse by morphing into dull boring Savers....

TapasForTwo · 27/08/2019 23:19

Re being pounced on by shop assistants - DD has worked in retail and applied for loads of retail jobs. She did a couple of hours trial in a kitchenware shop, and was told that she had to approach each customer three times to try and elicit a sale.

I know that many shops have a similar policy. It isn't just a rule at The Bodyshop.

This tactic clearly doesn't work. I don't understand why retailers who make these rules up think that this approach works. I think it is driving customers away from shops.

HeadintheiClouds · 27/08/2019 23:24

Three times?? I’d walk after the second, and never return Shock. Do they really think this kind of harassment of customers works?

JasperRising · 27/08/2019 23:39

I have a friends who does the Body Shop At Home and she will give the pound credit for any bottle returned to her and yet even the bs reps only get to return 5 bottles a day.

And this is where the idea that BS at home is just a nice way to make a small amount of money or to get a discount on products you love starts to break down. Your friend gives you a £ credit but then she's out of pocket until she has five bottles to return so she's either having to rush through stuff or give out other credits. Then she has to pay fuel and parking and if she's got ten bottles has to do that twice over. Now the income might cover her own addiction to the product but does it also cover those expenses?

And who pays postage on the products she orders in? (I don't know for BS at home but for some it is the rep) And those discounts the reps offer to make sales, those are going to eat into their profits.

The problem with most MLM models is that they gloss over the business expenses. "It's just a fun social way to make a bit of money/get discounted products" etc etc. Except when you look at it most MLM reps are only breaking even or they are covering their costs from other jobs, partners income or credit cards.

So it's not really a nice way to empower women - at least not the majority of women. And body shop aren't going to ditch if as a pp said it is their most profitable selling method but note that it is the most profitable method for the company not for individual reps.

Not a rant at you personally Dontsweatthelittlestuff - just your post gave some interesting clues as to where the at home consultants model might start to hurt individual reps.

PancakeAndKeith · 27/08/2019 23:46

They are dramatically reducing the amount of plastic usage, this Christmas there is barely any to be seen.

So nothing was in plastic bottles then?

Anyway.
Body Shop if you are reading this then this is what I would like:
A range of shampoos, shower gel, soap and conditioner that is palm oil free and in plastic free or refillable packaging. Make one basic product for each of those and then give them different scents and hair types.
Publicise it hard and I know people will come back. People want palm oil free stuff. Make it happen.

gemmagilbert · 27/08/2019 23:57

@PancakeAndKeith you're right sorry, I worded it wrong. I meant the gift packaging.

They are working on recycling plastic, changes are coming.

DoomsdayCult · 27/08/2019 23:59

@boatyardblues
“I used to shop in Body Shop before it stopped doing lots of the plain, useful stuff it sold in the 80s/early 90s. Their vitamin E face cream was great on my sensitive skin. The rice bran exfoliant was very good & I now pay £££ for something similar from the Dermalogica range. Lots of the Body Shop stuff is over smelly and fake. On the other hand, I wouldn’t use anything from Lush if you paid me. Even passing the shop makes me wheezy.”

You must be my twin sister. I used to buy adzuki bean face scrub and other toiletries from them in 80s/90s. But when they phased out actual natural ingredients I stopped buying from them. Also, Lush is just plain awful & makes me wheeze too.

MollyButton · 28/08/2019 08:27

Body Shop if you are reading this then this is what I would like:
A range of shampoos, shower gel, soap and conditioner that is palm oil free and in plastic free or refillable packaging. Make one basic product for each of those and then give them different scents and hair types.

Totally agree - but also have some solid shampoo, conditioner etc.

Seashell87 · 28/08/2019 08:42

This reply has been deleted

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CheckingOutTheQuantocks · 28/08/2019 09:15

Incredible! A thread where people talk about how much they loathe MLMs and their business model, and no fewer than 3 people turn up and try to convince us what a good idea it is. Actually posting a link to your FB page will probably get you deleted, but I can't get over how brazen you are.

Gottobefree · 28/08/2019 09:19

They get people to become home sellers so you can buy them through them and they earn 25% commission. But their products are now cheap! Why bother earning 25% commission on a £3.50 hand lotion....

Also they have the same products but just release them all in different sickly smelling products ! Body Shop used to be so good but the shops are dying and the quality is gone. New competitors are taking over now

user27495824 · 28/08/2019 09:45

Just wanted to add (because The Body Shop would be mental not to take note given how big this thread has got) that I'd love to see the children's range brought back. I always got body shop soaps and products in my stocking at Christmas and every year I check in the Body Shop at Christmas time to see if they have any this year and nada. Soaps and refillable excema friendly children's bath product and shampoo bars and I will be a loyal customer.

Dontsweatthelittlestuff · 28/08/2019 09:52

As already said I don’t think my friend makes much from it ( yes it is a friend and not me)
I do buy from her but only stuff I already buy which are the soap, shampoo and hair serum. Plus I have replaced my usual moisturiser with the baby yogurt as it is cheaper than what I was using and doesn’t take forever to soak in. Probably works out about £10 per month so she is not making much from me.

A few weeks ago I was in the baby shop store in Chichester. Lovely store, well laid out with a much bigger range than my smaller local store. In a good location and the shopping area was pretty busy but the store was empty. I was the only customer in there for a good 20 minutes and I only spent £5 on a new hair brush.