New Body Shop chief waits in the wings as Natura takes control

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Sep 12, 2017

A new CEO for The Body Shop has been selected and will be announced in October, Brazilian company Natura Cosmetico revealed this week following its acquisition of the British skin care company.

Natura, which also owns premium beauty brand Aesop, agreed to buy The Body Shop from L’Oreal for €1bn in June.
The group outlined on Monday its new governance and management structure, with Roberto Marques named as executive chairman of the board and three chief executives designated to “ensure full autonomy” of the group’s three brands, Natura, Aseop and The Body Shop.

Both Natura CEO Joao Paulo Ferreira and Aesop CEO Michael O’Keeffe will remain in place, but current TBS boss Jeremy Schwartz will be replaced by an unnamed man.

According to the Financial Times, the new TBS chief executive will be “a British guy with experience in retail,” keeping in line with the company’s “essentially British” heritage.

“We think that the British identity of the brand it’s very positive and has to be highly respected,” said Natura co-chairman Guilherme Leal to the newspaper.

The Body Shop headquarters will also remain in the UK.

Natura plans to help The Body Shop regain its appeal by bringing back a culture of activism, rolling out a consistent store concept and further energising the franchise network. The company also said there are great opportunities to increase TBS’ digital retail channel and will boost its investment in digital marketing to enhance its omnichannel presence.

The Body Shop has an extensive store network in 66 countries, by its total sales fell significantly in 2016 to £783.8m