L’Oréal has vehemently denied rumours that The Body Shop is being groomed for sale, after a source was quoted saying the business no longer fitted L’Oreal’s strategy.
Speculation over a possible sale began when Lush founder Mark Constantine, who tried to buy The Body Shop in 2001, told www.thisismoney.co.uk that he had spoken to a Body Shop source who told him that the naturals brand no longer fitted L’Oréal’s strategy and was being groomed for sale. He was quoted as saying: “It doesn’t fulfill L’Oréal’s profit profile. They always get rid of businesses that perform averagely. I don’t know what it will sell for, but it will certainly be for less than they paid.”
However, a L’Oréal spokeswoman told Retail Week: “There is absolutely no truth in the rumour that L’Oréal intends to sell The Body Shop. In an interview with The Financial Times on 27 September 2012, Jean-Paul Agon, chairman and ceo of L’Oréal, explicitly denied any intention to sell and added that: “The Body Shop is a kind of treasure that we are very happy to have”.”
L’Oréal bought The Body Shop for £652.3m in 2006.