The History
Lush was founded in 1995 by 6 co-founders; Mo Constantine, Mark Constantine, Rowena Bird, Helen Ambrosen, Liz Bennett and Paul Greeves.
Emerging from the demise of a previous mail order business called Cosmetics To Go - a massive success that collapsed through a combination of over-trading and flooding - it was the same team that created and inspired this new venture. The first shop opened in Poole, Dorset where it still remains as the heart of Lush business ventures today. There are now 104 shops in the UK and over 929 worldwide in 49 countries.
Expansion
Lush’s expansion, whilst rapid, has been controlled. The rights to Lush worldwide are wholly owned by the Poole based parent company, Lush Ltd, which also owns Lush Retail Ltd in the UK and shares in all Lush retail operations. Recent years have seen a modest increase in new store openings, instead strong sales growth has been the result of a focus on strategic relocations to bigger and better stores and refits. Larger stores in better locations mean we can offer the customer an altogether better experience, with the full product range. Lush has wholly owned shops in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, France, Luxembourg, Austria, the Republic of Ireland, The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, The Czech Republic, Portugal, Hungary, Hong Kong and Brazil.
The team has set up successful joint ventures in countries including: Canada, USA, Russia, Switzerland, Ukraine, Croatia, Dubai, Estonia, Bosnia, Slovenia and South Korea. Recent additions include Panama, Mexico, Lebanon, South Africa, Greece and Thailand.We also have licensee agreements in Chile, Philippines, The Gulf States and Singapore. Future expansion plans are focusing on Malaysia, Vietnam, South America, Indonesia, Pakistan and Iran.
'I've always loved the way fruit and vegetables are displayed in a grocery store'
About Lush
British High Street beauty retailer Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics is the ultimate beauty delicatessen and, since establishing 23 years ago, has been driven by innovation and its ethics. Creators of pioneering beauty products such as the fizzing bath bomb, shower jellies, solid shampoo bars and solid toothpaste (Toothy Tabs), Lush places emphasis on fresh ingredients like organic fruits and vegetables and the highest quality herbs, flowers and essential oils. As befits its grocery heritage, customers are also encouraged to choose their cosmetics personally; prices are by weight and wrapped in greaseproof; and products carry use-by dates so it’s easy to see when your product was made, and by whom.
Lush operates a strict policy against animal testing - all items are suitable for vegtarians and those suitable for vegans are clearly marked - and operates a thoroughly comprehensive Ethical Buying department, supporting fair and direct trade initiatives across the world. Lush leads the cosmetics industry in combating over-packaging by running public awareness campaigns and developing products that can be sold ‘naked’ to the consumer without any packaging. Lush Digital contribute to and are part of the global open source software community, striving to ensure they use only ethically sourced and powered hardware and take a strong ethical stance on how data should be used and control of privacy given back to the user.