Sam Roddick | |
|---|---|
 Roddick in 2008 | |
| Born | 1 July 1971 [1] Rustington, Sussex, England |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Known for | Businesswoman, founder of Coco de Mer, and Bondage For Freedom |
| Children | Osha, daughter [2] |
| Parent(s) | Gordon Roddick Anita Roddick |
| Website | coco-de-mer |
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.
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]
Roddick's early activism included talks, fundraisers and projects worldwide. [1] [5] [6] In addition, she set up Cockroach, a youth magazine; and taught art in Vancouver. [1] Roddick backed the Women's Equality Party's campaign to encourage women to vote in the UK's 2016 referendum on its membership of the EU. [7]
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 shop Lovehoney. [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]
Bondage for Freedom was founded in 2008, focusing on fighting for human and environmental rights. [15] It had worked on a number of projects, including the 1994 Rwandan genocide; the release of the "Angola Three"; preventing sex-trafficking; and colony collapse disorder. [15] [16] [17] [18]
Roddick is an advisor on The Joy of Teen Sex . [19]
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