The Body Shop rolls out facelift

The Body Shop will begin an international roll-out of new retail store interiors and signage during the next few weeks, following trials in France and Singapore over the past six months.

Developed in-house by Body Shop global design director Jon Turner and global head of retail marketing Ronny Helvey, the revamp is part of a three- to five- year brand restructure. It follows the appointment of chief executive Patrick Gournay in 1998.

Helvey says: “The first step, trialed at the Lille store in November 1999, was making the stores look and feel more natural, using recycled materials.

“The second phase, in Singapore during March, was refining the design further and upgrading it in terms of the profile of the brand,” he adds.

“The results of the Singapore store have been very successful and we are now taking it as our base proposition and physically working the micro details, including signage. From the middle of this year, a two-tier roll-out will begin across our 48 markets, based on the Singapore outlet,” adds Helvey.

The 1700 existing shops will be upgraded as part of a “retrofit programme”, while 100 new stores planned for Asia and Europe in the next eight months will be built in the new style. “There will be vibrancy but with a feeling of natural materials, and the trademark green continues to be an integral element,” explains Helvey.