Lush’s smell might be divisive – but its business success is not
From quitting social media to encouraging staff whistleblowers, co-founder Rowena Bird explains how a 30-year-old business built on scented bath bombs balances profits and principles.
With its products stacked like fruit and vegetables and soaps showcased like cheese wheels, Lush now has stores in 53 countries. Alamy
Lauren SamsFin editor, deputy editor AFR Magazine and fashion editor
If there was a list of rules for building a beauty brand, Lush would have broken most – if not all – of them.
The British company was founded in 1995 by six friends off the back of a failed mail-order business, Cosmetics To Go (among them was Mark Constantine, who had sold an earlier company to The Body Shop). They decided to save money by forgoing packaging for many of the products – unheard of at the time.
Lauren SamsFin editor, deputy editor AFR Magazine and fashion editorLauren Sams is the editor of Fin Magazine, The Australian Financial Review’s luxury quarterly edition. She is also the deputy editor at The Australian Financial Review Magazine and the fashion editor. She writes about the business of fashion and beauty. Email Lauren at lauren.sams@afr.com
