| Mon 25 Jun 2001, 0:00 | | New Clicks Brings The Body Shop To Sa |
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Press release from New Clicks Holdings Limited
NEW CLICKS BRINGS THE BODY SHOP TO SA
Multibrand specialist retailer New Clicks announced today that it has
agreed in principal to sign a direct franchise agreement with The Body Shop,
one of the UK's most trusted brands, famous for creating a market niche for
naturally-inspired toiletry and beauty products as well as for its values-
and ethics-driven approach to business.
Subject to final terms being agreed, New Clicks intends to open at least
30 wholly-owned, stand-alone The Body Shop stores in South Africa over the
next three years, which should boost group sales by an estimated R75-
million. The capital investment will be around R10-million and funded from
internal resources.
The deal is strategically important for the group's beauty business, in
line with its stated intent to specialise further within the core categories
of health, home and beauty.
Raymond Godfrey, executive director of New Clicks, says the group is
thrilled to be associated with such a prestige brand.
"The Body Shop will operate as an independent brand in our stable,
leveraging off the existing corporate services platform. The stores will be
a small-size format (around 80 m2). We hope to create many new jobs over the
next three years and believe that there is potential for more than 30
stores.
" New Clicks intends to enter into a strategic partnership, COSI, a South
African company which operates The Body Shop's outsourced manufacturing
facility in the UK, whereby COSI will have a 25% stake in The Body Shop in
South Africa," says Godfrey.
The brand will be launched in October, with a projected five stores
opened by year-end before the peak December trading period.
The Body Shop was started by entrepreneur Anita Roddick in 1976. It
rapidly evolved from one small shop in Brighton, England with only around 25
hand-mixed products to a worldwide network of shops selling a range of over
1 000 products. The company currently operates in 49 countries, with 1 876
outlets.
The Body Shop has decided that the direct franchise route is the most
appropriate way of developing the company in South Africa. The company has
undertaken an ethical and social audit of New Clicks in line with its
recognised principles.
Roger Baxter, Regional Director for Europe, Middle East and Africa, The
Body Shop, says: "The partnership between New Clicks and The Body Shop is a
good fit. Not only do we share respect for social and ethical principles in
doing business, but New Clicks has the expertise, infrastructure and
resources to allow us to grow rapidly in this part of the world."
The stores opened by New Clicks are the first stores of The Body Shop to
open in Africa. Baxter says that the seasonal difference in the hemispheres
will work to local advantage, as product that has already proven successful
in Europe will be promoted in South Africa six months later.
Once The Body Shop has been set up in accordance with the basic The Body
Shop principles (see below) and a solid base established, he envisages scope
for exploring new business methods with local communities, as well as
opportunities for Community Trade sourcing. He also foresees involvement in
some interesting campaigns, such as the Conference against Racism in Durban
later this year, the Human Rights Awards which may well take place in South
Africa and the Rio + 10 Earth Summit scheduled to be held in Johannesburg
towards the end of 2002.
The Big Issue, a paper sold by homeless people, now in the Western Cape
and Gauteng, has been supported by The Body Shop since its inception. The
Body Shop Co-Chair Gordon Roddick was the co-founder of the Big Issue in the
United Kingdom. The New Clicks Foundation has for the past year provided
financial and business assistance to The Big Issue in South Africa, which
Raymond Godfrey describes as the first of many co-operative social
responsibility projects between the two organisations.
ends
* See attached fact sheet
* Visit the websites: www.nuclicks.co.za, www.bodyshop.com
Prepared by : Lucy Reyburn Investor Relations , Tel: 082 922 7483
On behalf of: New Clicks Holdings Limited
Contact: Raymond Godfrey, Executive Director - Tel 021 460 1299
FACT SHEET - THE BODY SHOP
1. The Body Shop International PLC is a values-driven, high-quality skin and
hair care manufacturer and retailer operating in 49 countries with 1 876
outlets spanning 25 languages and 12 time zones.
2. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and employs over 5 000
people worldwide.
3. The Body Shop is a stakeholder-led company. It believes that business is
primarily about human relationships - that the more you listen to your
stakeholders and involve them in decision-making, the better your business
will run.
4. In 1999 The Body Shop was voted the second most trusted brand in the UK
by the Consumers Association. In Interbrand's last survey in 1997 it names
The Body Shop as the 28th top brand in the world, the second in the retail
sector. In a 1998 report, The Financial Times voted The Body Shop the 27th
most respected company in the world.
5. The Body Shop has developed a Community Trade programme that creates
sustainable trading relationship with communities in need around the world.
The goal is to help build livelihoods and to explore trade-based approaches
to supporting sustainable development by sourcing ingredients and
accessories from socially and economically marginalised producer
communities. Through this programme, The Body Shop sources raw materials
for inclusion in some of its best-selling products, such as cocoa butter and
babassu oil. The Body Shop now trades with more than 42 Community Trade
suppliers in 26 countries.
6. The basic principles of The Body Shop are:
* Against Animal Testing
* Support Community Trade
* Defend Human Rights
* Activate Self-Esteem
* Protect Our Planet
