In Canadian retail circles, Margot Franssen's name remains synonymous with The Body Shop, the franchise specializing in personal products that she built and nurtured in the country over a 25-year span.

But that was then and this is now. Which is to say, Franssen isn't one to dwell on the past.

Asked for her thoughts about The Body Shop Canada, which has achieved sales of $130 million annually, Franssen playfully quips: "Accessorize."

A week after completing the $26-million sale of The Body Shop Canada to The Body Shop International last year, the passionate retailer was back in business as owner and operator of the Accessorize Canada franchise of women's shops and entertaining bold expansion plans for the new venture.

Ken Kerr, Business Edge
Accessorize Canada franchise owner/operator Margot Franssen, here with a promotional company poster, wasted no time getting back into the fray.

The Dutch-born Franssen leaves the impression she won't rest easy until Accessorize is recognized as her crowning achievement in the retail world.

1. Who was your mentor or role model as a youngster?

"My mom and dad (Rose and Gil). They really did struggle for a long time. They came to Canada with a hundred bucks and no English. I think most immigrant kids look at their parents with awe. There were times when we didn't have food and they really, really suffered. When I look back now, I think, 'Oh my God, how on Earth did they do that?' I can't even imagine me moving to Turkey with a hundred bucks and not knowing the language. Immigrants are such an amazing group of people. My dad was a mechanical engineer and, when I was five, he got a job with Texaco and then things started getting a little better."

2. So what were your goals during your youth?

"To party (laughing). I honestly didn't have any goals. I wish I could tell you I did. I was one of those kids who went to high school and lo-o-o-o-ved to party. I got such bad marks that you could say that I was a child of the Sixties. And it wouldn't be the decade. It would be my marks. I didn't do one stick of work in school. After high school, I got a job as a clerk (at investment firm McLeod, Young, Weir & Co.) and then I was elevated to clerk typist. Then, I got to be the coffee girl. I saw these young guys being paid to take this investment dealers course. I thought they were making a lot of money and I was as smart as they were, so I went to my boss and asked if I could be in that group. And he just basically laughed and said, 'Oh we don't pay for women to do that because they'd probably fail.' That was in 1970. So I left and went to another financial investment dealer, Alfred Bunting & Co., and they paid for the course and got the (investment dealers) licence. But I was still a secretary because they didn't really have women traders on the desk. So I said, 'This is not good.' I really didn't want to do this for the rest of my life, although I must say I was a very fine secretary. So I decided go to university (York University)."

3. How did that go?

"I decided I would take business because you sort of have to justify taking time off to go to school. I was so bored I can't even tell you. It was the most boring thing I've ever done. So, within a couple of months, I changed my major to philosophy and it was fantastic. I mean, doors were just banging open in my brain. I loved it. I got great marks. And I got my BA in philosophy. And then reality set in. I thought, 'Oh, sh--, what the hell do you do with a degree in philosophy? Do you go back and be a coffee girl? I don't think so.' The woman I was working for part-time in a secretarial position while going to school was a sculptor. Her name was Maryon Kantaroff. She came back from England with a little gift basket for me from The Body Shop as a graduation present. I sort of put it aside because I didn't really use a lot of that stuff. But then I thought I'd better open it because she was going to ask me if I liked it. When I opened it, I couldn't believe how ugly those bottles were. Because they were actually urine specimen bottles. In Canada at that time, nobody sold cosmetics that weren't in really fancy packaging. But then she told me about the company and I originally thought I'd copy the idea."

4. So how did you come to acquire The Body Shop franchise rights for Canada?

"I went to see the company in London and I felt something good about it. In hindsight, it was the corporate culture. I went to dinner at the home of Anita Roddick (The Body Shop International founder), she put the kids to bed and we got absolutely pie-eyed. And about two o'clock in the morning, Anita Roddick's husband Gordon said to me, 'What is it that you want?' And I thought,wow, if you're going to stand on thin ice, you might as well dance on it, right? So I said, 'All of Canada or nothing.' And they looked at me and said, 'OK, you've got it.' And that was how it started."

5. So what do you remember about your first store?

Ken Kerr, Business Edge
Accessorize CEO Margot Franssen is enjoying new challenges.

"My sister (Betty-Ann) and I helped build the first store. We were laying the tiles and painting because we didn't have a lot of money to put into it. It was on Yorkville Avenue (in Toronto). I knew I needed a good street, but I couldn't afford the good part of the good street. So I had to go to the bad part of the good street. And it worked out quite well. We were breaking even within six months."

6. What made The Body Shop so successful?

"I think it was because nobody had done anything like it in terms of selling cosmetics or toiletries. And it made people smile. It was about being truthful and honest in an industry that was known for deceit. And we were offering them a product that actually did do the job we said it could do without embellishing what it could do, at a great price in a really fun atmosphere. You know, businesses that are good businesses don't just have one thing. You're operating on all cylinders at once. So it's all about the synergy of the business."

7. What do you think about in reflecting on your 25 years running The Body Shop Canada?

"Accessorize ... You know, it was very, very hard to sell The Body Shop because I was very emotionally attached to it, as was my husband (Hall 'Quig' Tingley) and my sister, who were partners in the business. The separation anxiety started, I'd say, in 1999 when I started thinking about selling it and I was able to let go of it by the time the sale actually happened. But looking back now, I'm just so proud of what we accomplished. When you're in it, you don't see it. But when I stepped back from it a little later, I started to see how easy it is now to run my new business because of all that experience of running The Body Shop. I'm damn happy with what I did."

8. What's the most important lesson you've taken from The Body Shop that you can apply with Accessorize?

"It's all about relationships. And it's all about maintaining your integrity. If you don't treat your people well, there's nothing you can do to get good customer service. It's all about the people that work for you. It's like a mirror. They will treat your customers exactly the way you're treating them. And I really learned that early on."

9. Are you shocked by the rash of crimes being committed by corporate executives?

"Well, I kind of go, 'I told you so.' I've been preaching ethical business in speeches for 24 years. My philosophy is that there can be only one value system that you can use.These people are basically good people. These CEOs are not devils. But what happens is that they have one value system from nine to five, which is that if it's not illegal, we can do it. And then they use another value system from five to nine. The things that they allow their employees to do they probably wouldn't allow their kids to do. So the only thing that has to happen is that they have to align all the values."

10. After selling The Body Shop Canada, how did you decide to go with Accessorize as your next venture?

"They (retailer Monsoon, owner of the Accessorize store chain) came to my husband and I a year and a half before we sold The Body Shop. I said, 'Oh sure, I can bring that brand to Canada for you.' I said to them that I've got a marketing department and an accounting department and IT (information technology). I thought, what could be easier than plunking another brand on all this infrastructure? Of course, I went ahead and sold The Body Shop so when I started Accessorize one week after selling The Body Shop, I was sitting there all by myself going, 'Holy crap, Batman, what am I going to do now?' So I instantly got a team of people and we spent a month working out of my house and out of their houses, trying to organize ourselves. And it was really fun, actually, because it made me really go back to 24 years ago when I had nothing. It was easier because now I had a pile of cash and a pile of experience from The Body Shop. It was good going back to the basics because I had to do it all by myself and it kind of clarified for me what the business was all about."

11. So how did you spend that week between The Body Shop and Accessorize?

"I found not being able to do anything led me to my computer games, which I'm fully addicted to. And I started getting a terrible crick in my neck. So I thought, 'This cannot be good for me, I can't do this for the rest of my life and I need a job'. So that's what drove me to continue to work full time at Accessorize. People asked me why I opened another business.

It's because I relax by doing business. It's fun."

12. What's your growth strategy?

"We now have six stores, we'll have nine by the end of November and we're looking at 50 stores within five years."

13. Can you set ambitious goals like that regardless of what happens with the economy?

"Yeah, I can because this business is a lot like The Body Shop was in the early days. The worse the economy gets, the more people buy your stuff. When they can't buy the luxury goods and the moderately overpriced things, they come to the people who give them a nice smile, good customer service and decent products at a good price. We're about small enjoyments."

14. Would you take this company public?

"Absolutely not. I would never ever do that. It's the ruin of businesses that have verve and spunk because all of sudden you're being led to have results every quarter that might not be necessarily good for the long term of your business."

15. What's the key to getting people to walk into your stores?

"A good window. And good word of mouth. You need something absolutely enticing in the window. And, when they come in, you need to give people a good enough experience and unusual enough experience so they'll actually go tell somebody."

16. How would you describe your shopping style?

"I hate shopping. I loathe shopping. The only time I ever shop is when I'm on the road. And when I see something I like I get it in four different colours. It's not my sport. Originally, I based my retail business on being a customer because I had no experience being a business owner. I think that naiveté probably brought us success. I'd describe my entrepreneurial style in one word - intense."

17. Who's the person you'd walk over hot coals in bare feet to have lunch with?

"I did have lunch with that person. That was the Dalai Lama (Buddhist leader Tenzin Gyatso). He has the best sense of humour and he's so down to earth. I was sitting right beside him at lunch and he was eating a chicken pot pie. I thought, 'What the hell is the Dalai Lama doing eating a chicken pot pie?' He's supposed to be a vegetarian - all Buddhists are. So I said, 'Hey, Dalai, what are you doing eating a chicken pot pie?' He said: 'In the part of Tibet I'm from, we live above the tree range so there isn't any vegetation. All of us eat meat and drink milk, etc.' "

18. You've been involved in a lot of social programs for women. How important is that aspect of your life?

"That's probably the most important part of my life. You know, women are fantastic. And most people forget that they hold up half the sky. And they are my business and they always have been my business. So I feel deeply obliged to do something to help them. And writing a cheque is just not enough. You need to open your mouth and protest and let NGOs (non-governmental organizations) use the resources that you have. Just as you would lend a lawnmower to your neighbour, I lend my businesses to NGOs, whether it's the PR (public relations) aspect or whatever. I have two daughters and I'm just devoted to the Canadian Women's Foundation (of which she is co-president) because it gets women who have been in terrible situations up on their feet by making them business owners, which means that they don't have to be a drain on society anymore. To me, poverty is the biggest issue. There are so many children living in poverty. They're our citizens who are going to make our country healthy. You just have to step up to the plate and help somebody build their life."

19. How has money changed your life, considering where you came from?

"We were pretty dirt poor until I was in Grade 1, but then we became middle class. Even when things got better, though, my parents struggled to make ends meet. Having a lot of money is very interesting. What I get the greatest joy from is being able to share it. If we want to go on vacation and surround ourselves with friends, we can take them with us. That's really fun. Being poor is a pain in the ass. It really takes a lot of energy. And money just allows you freedom. You don't have to worry about your kids needing anything, but on the other hand you worry about them getting too much. So it's a balance."

20. I make you a ridiculous offer to acquire your company. Would you sell?

"Not yet. I want to do more. But now I know when to sell - before I get too emotionally attached. Those things are hard to predict, but I have two daughters who might like to take it over. I'm certainly not running it forever. I'm 53. So, sooner or later, my husband is going to get tired of me working. There are a lot of things I'd like to have more time to do. I love adventure travel, I love tennis, I love spas and I love meeting people."

Accessorize Canada

* Owners: Margot Franssen and husband Hall "Quig" Tingley.

* Brass: Margot Franssen, president/CEO; Quig Tingley, secretary; Marco Salvati, general manager; Pat Korosi, director of national sales.

* Profile: Accessorize is a division of London-based retailer Monsoon and its boutiques feature women's accessories such as bags, purses, jewelry, belts, hats, scarves, shoes and gloves. Accessorize Canada, launched a year ago, has six stores - in Toronto, Etobicoke, Markham, Vancouver, Burnaby and Victoria.

* Website: www.accessorize.com

* Office: 119 Spadina Ave., Suite 305, Toronto, M5V 2L1.

* Phone/Fax: 416-506-0060/506-0066.

Margot Franssen

* Title: President/CEO/owner, Accessorize Canada.

* Born/raised/age: Heerlen, the Netherlands/Edmonton, Pigeon Lake, Alta./53.

* Education: York University, bachelor of arts, philosophy.

* Family: Husband Hall "Quig" Tingley, three children.

* Career: Franssen started The Body Shop Canada in 1980 with partners Quig Tingley and sister Betty-Ann Franssen, and operated the company for 25 years until its sale to The Body Shop International in 2004 for $26 million plus shares. She launched the Canadian franchise for Accessorize in 2004.

* Moonlighting: Franssen is co-president of the Canadian Women's Foundation and a board member of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.

* Accolades: Franssen is an officer of the Order of Canada and has earned numerous honours, including the United Nations Grand Award for the Violence Against Women Campaign and the YWCA Women of Distinction Award.

* Claim to fame: Franssen was a guest of the United Nations at the fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995.

* Favourite entrepreneur: Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer.

* Favourite escape: Video games.

* Last book read: Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn.

(Gyle Konotopetz can be reached at gyle@businessedge.ca)