Anita and T. Gordon Roddick, co-founders of Body Shop International (West Sussex, U.K.), have resigned as co-chairmen after failing to find a buyer for the company. CEO Patrick Gourney also resigned.
Adrian Bellamy, a Body Shop director who currently oversees its American operations, will replace the couple as chairman. Peter Saunders, currently ceo of North American operations, will replace Gourney. The Roddicks will retain seats on the company's board, and Mrs. Roddick will become a consultant to the company, primarily responsible for finding new ingredients for the company's product line of natural skin and hair care products. Though founder of the once-successful company, Roddick hasn't had day-to-day control of the business since the board voted to replace her with Gourney.
Sales at the 1965 stores throughout Europe, Asia and North America had been suffering, and the company has been on the block for the last few years. Talks to sell it to Grupo Omnilife (Guadalajara, Mexico), one of Latin America's biggest direct-to-consumer sellers of nutritional supplements. There had also been talks with the venture capital arm of the French bank BNP Paribas and with Lush, the Dorset,U.K.-based natural cosmetics rival.