Profile 2. The Body Shop, Japan - In-store HIV/AIDS campaigns

Key lesson: Awareness initiatives through core business sites

· Business description:

The Body Shop in Japan, owned by Aeon Forest Co. Ltd, is a franchised company of The Body Shop International plc. It was established in 1990, retailing high-quality skin and hair care products and attracting some 4.5 million customers per year into around 116 stores. Turnover for 1999 was around Y8billion (approx. $US 75 million). The company is committed to promoting corporate social responsibility and environmental responsibility as a core value in the business.

1. Motivation for action

In the mid 1990s, The Body Shop in Japan observed the rapid spread and impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in parts of Asia, and while Japan had not been hit as hard as other countries the company recognised the threat it posed. Through their approach to business, The Body Shop in Japan believe that they have a responsibility to the communities in which they operate. Therefore, they sought to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS amongst their customers and to engage them in the response through in-store campaigns.

2. Business response to HIV/AIDS

Since 1997, The Body Shop in Japan has been running HIV/AIDS campaigns around World AIDS Day, primarily to raise awareness of the disease and to break down stigmatisation and discrimination of people living with HIV/AIDS. The approach has been to make use of their human resources as a mechanism for providing HIV/AIDS campaigners with an outlet for information dissemination, while minimising additional costs. The Body Shop in Japan has taken the campaigns into its stores with the aim of integrating HIV/AIDS into every day environments. In particular, in-store activities assist in accessing women who, in Japan, are often excluded from discussions surrounding the issue of HIV/AIDS, such as sex and drug use.

Each year the campaigns themselves have focused on different HIV/AIDS issues and organisations, at an annual cost of around Y1.4 million (circa $US 13,000):

· In 1997, The Body Shop in Japan partnered with a local NGO, HIV and Human Rights Information Centre, a local organisation that supports people living with HIV/AIDS. The company donated 2% of the sales of one product to the NGO and distributed to customers free condoms and HIV/AIDS information that was provided by the NGO.

· In 1998, the campaign focused on drawing attention to the global pandemic by providing global information from UNAIDS to its customers. In addition, they collaborated with Levi Strauss Japan to create and sell T-shirts with an HIV/AIDS message, donating profits to an NGO in Thailand.

· In 1999, The Body Shop in Japan supported an NGO working with people living with HIV/AIDS by trading the NGO’s teddy bears which had information tags attached to assist in raising awareness about discrimination. In addition they sold T-shirts and red ribbon badges, donating profits to the HIV and Human Rights Information Centre.

3. Results and lessons

The cause-related marketing activities (T-shirts, red ribbons, Japan-specific products) were highly successful in generating public awareness for the campaigns. There were also reputation gains for the company on a topic that is now being legitimised as an important issue, especially amongst the young.

The Body Shop in Japan also identified benefits to their employees, through observed improvement in staff morale and productivity through involvement in the instore campaigns. They also held workshops for all store managers to raise the level of understanding of HIV/AIDS, which had the effect of convincing many of them of the importance of such close involvement. In addition, The Body Shop Japan recognised from experience that the use of simplified and concise HIV/AIDS information is important if both customers and staff are to be engaged.