L’Oreal to Double Body Shop Stores
By Staff -- Gifts & Decorative Accessories, 10/6/2006 12:14:00 PM
Clichy, France — Jean-Paul Agon, president and CEO of L'Oreal, plans to more than double the number of Body Shop stores. In an interview with The Financial Times, Agon said the Body Shop could expand from 2,000 stores to 5,000 within a few years.
L’Oreal purchased the chain for $1.14 billion in March. (For more information, see L’Oreal Mulls Body Shop Buy and Body Shop Accepts L’Oreal Takeover.) At the time of the acquisition, some consumers feared the new ownership would dilute The Body Shop’s commitment to natural, environmental and sustainable products. Although L'Oreal stopped animal testing on all its cosmetic products in 1991, it has been criticized by some groups for continuing to use ingredients that ultimately require animal testing.
Agon responded to those concerns by saying, "Our way to achieve it is not to say that we are going to be out of the categories that require [animal testing] today but [that] we are inventing like crazy on alternative methods for the future (including exploring testing of chemical ingredients on artificially-produced human skin). The big ambition in terms of animal testing is to make animal testing disappear completely and forever in the beauty industry," added Agon.
Talkback
Related Content
Related Content
