Dame Anita Roddick, who died last night aged 64, garnered a formidable reputation as a successful businesswoman and entrepreneur as well as an environmental campaigner.

She opened her first shop in Littlehampton, West Sussex, in 1976, financed by a £4,000 bank loan while still looking after two young daughters.

Famously, this humble first Body Shop sold only 15 cruelty-free beauty products.

Success quickly followed — a second store was opened, thanks to the sale of a 22 per cent stake in the firm to Ian McGlinn, a West Sussex garage owner.Related Links

By the time Dame Anita’s empire was in the thick of a £652 million takeover by the French cosmetics group L’Oreal last year — during its 30th anniversary — it had floated on the stock market and was opening stores in locations as far flung as Jordan, Russia and India.

At its height, Body Shop operated out of 2,100 branches in 55 countries, although in its latter years it was forced to retrench amid intense competition and the perception that its image had grown tired and was lacking popularity among young people.

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