The transition of ownership of The Body Shop remains a very controversial topic in terms of ethical business tactics.
The main ethical difference between the two companies before their transaction was that “The Body Shop” was very against animal testing and Dame Anita, one of the founders of The Body Shop 30 years ago, “…campaigned passionately around ethical issues such as fair trade and sustainable development”, as mentioned in “The Independent”, a UK news website. On the other hand, L’Oreal did not abandon animal testing.
—->
It was mentioned that the owners and shareholders would earn a large sum of money as a result of L’Oreal acquiring the business for 625 million pounds. This might lead the public to think that The Body Shop’s stand of being an ethical cosmetic business was swaying, and then collapsed in front of profits and personal preference of the decision makers in the company.
However, a combination of L’Oreal’s strong presence on the global market and The Body Shop’s great reputation is a difficult combination to find. Therefore, together, they have an advantage of power and influence which raises the barrier to entry into the already fierce competition amongst the different cosmetic companies.