In Brief: The Body Shop
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
The Body Shop: U.S. retail sales flat at $71.2 mil. ([pound]42.3 mil.) for the first half of 1997 (ended Aug. 31), reflecting a low number of store openings, as well as a 5% decrease in comparable store sales, the company reported. The firm reduced its operating loss in the U.S. to $4.9 mil. ([pound]2.9 mil.) from $5.7 mil. ([pound]3.4 mil.) in the year-ago period by lowering franchise subsidies and lower stock provisions. In the U.S., The Body Shop has begun to test its Body Shop Direct sales approach in two New York markets and one New Jersey market, but no national roll out is planned at this time. Total Body Shop retail sales increased 6% to $475.4 mil. ([pound]282.3 mil.) in the first half of the year, with pre-tax profit flat at $20.7 mil. ([pound]12.3 mil.)...