biography
| name: |
Roddick, Anita (Lucia)
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| sex:
| female
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| lived:
| (1943– )
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| biography:
| Retail entrepreneur, born in Brighton, East Sussex, SE England, UK. She worked in her Italian parents' ice-cream parlour, trained as a drama teacher, and became intrigued by the idea of selling cosmetics in much the same way as a greengrocer would sell vegetables. In 1976 she opened a small shop in a back street of Brighton selling beauty products made from natural products, not tested on animals, and supplied in refillable containers. Her growing commitment to ecology and the Third World brought the Body Shop chain a profit of £6 million in the 1980s. By the late 1990s its share value had plunged from £38 million to £3·4 million. However, with new management and plans to expand into on-line shopping, confidence in its profitability was restored. She has received many awards, including the International Banksia Environmental Award (1993) and the Botwinick Prize in Business Ethics (1994). She and her husband resigned as co-chairs in 2002, but retained seats on the board. |
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