Samantha Roddick (born 1 July 1971) is an English business executive who is the founder of Coco de Mer, a British lingerie brand and retail store.[3] She is the daughter of Body Shop founder and activist Anita Roddick.
Early life and education
Roddick is the younger daughter of Anita and Gordon Roddick.[3] She was educated at Summerlea Primary School and then at Frensham Heights in Surrey until she was asked to leave at age 16.[1][4] She gained only two O-Levels due to having undiagnosed dyslexia.[1][4] On leaving Frensham, the mother of a schoolmate suggested she work with her in Nepal, which is where her activism began.[3][4]
In December 2001, Roddick opened Coco de Mer in Covent Garden's Monmouth Street with an evening hosted by Dave Stewart, and a fly-poster campaign by Saatchi and Saatchi.[2][3][8][9] In 2004 Roddick was prevented from registering the Coco de Mer name as a trade mark by French fashion designer Coco Chanel, the lawsuit citing the similarity in product range and name.[10][11][12]
In 2011 the brand was purchased by British sex shopLovehoney.[4][13] In April 2014 former La Perla brand director Lucy Litwack was appointed as managing director of the company. Cristina Ceresoli was also brought on to be interim Chief Marketing Officer.[14]
The name comes from the coco de mer palm tree of the Seychelles, which has the largest seed in the world.[2] The seed is said to resemble a woman's buttocks.[2][9]
