WHEN North America was opening up to commercial development around the turn of the century the legendary advice for any aspiring gentleman of commerce was to "Go west, young man, go west".

Approaching the turn of another century the focus of global growth opportunity has radically shifted. The aphorism now needs rewriting to read "Go east, young man - or woman - and the further east the better".

The so-called tiger economies of Asia and the Far East now have the spending power and, with a high cachet value on western consumerism, soak up goods and services like blotting paper. Many enterprises have found that when appetites become jaded in the west a foray eastward can restore a healthy glow to the bottom line balance sheet.

One company to find salvation in the Far East is environmentally conscious cosmetics retailer Body Shop. The group this week broke free from sluggish growth with a 30 per cent jump in half yearly profits to £11.8 million sterling, a recovery primarily due to the success of new outlets in the Far East. Since February, 30 new stores have been opened in the region and more are planned.

Just as well the tiger economies are bulk buying Body Shop's bath salts and shampoos for the news elsewhere is not so good. The group, which now has 1,440 outlets worldwide, is struggling in the UK with sales sluggish and profits static at £2.9 million. In the US losses widened to £3.4 million despite new products and a rationalisation of the stores chain. Europe remains a growth area with profits surging 55 per cent to £3 million.

With annual profits expected to grow 25 per cent to around £40 million, shareholders emerge smelling of rose-hip bath salts, the far from cosmetic dividend increased 39 per cent to 1.5p a share.