EXCLUSIVE: Homebase is the latest retailer to feel with wrath of the UK high-street closure apocalypse. But, there’s one brand predicted by experts to outlast them all – we speak to one of the founders
The founder of a major high street brand revealed the main reason why they’ll be one of the ‘last standing’ in the on-going shop closure cull.
British streets have been rapidly riddled with boarded up shops and permanently closed shutters as brick and mortar stores fall into a ‘vicious cycle of decline’.
Brands that were once household names have fell victim to the brutality of shop closures, where thousands have lost jobs and streets are readily becoming eyesores.
However, there’s one shop that has been predicted to be the ‘last one’ standing and that’s the fresh cosmetic retailer, Lush.
Last year, we spoke with expert trend forecaster Disha Daswaney who explained: “Lush will be one of the last brands standing because of the way they constantly innovate from a retail perspective.”
As the brand behind the bath bomb reaches its 30th birthday, we have now spoke with one of the co-founders of Lush, Rowena Bird, to understand why she thinks – and hopes – the shop will withstand the high street closure apocalypse.
The business woman exclusively told us: “The thing that we have realised is that you have to remain relevant.
“And that’s the most important thing, to be relevant. If you just keep your brand the same as it’s always been, then people will just think ‘same old, same old’.
“Whereas for us, we are always introducing new product or we’re doing a campaign so will be in peoples faces with that. We’ve also started doing the collaborations now, which is our latest biggest ‘thing”
“By introducing those they will be introducing other people to you. We’ve done ‘Super Mario’ and ‘Minecraft’ so people will think ‘Oh Lush have Super Mario and Minecraft too – it’s got Wicked and Shrek’.
“So we’re trying to keep relevant with what people are talking about at that time – and that’s another reason why we like the campaigning.”
Lush opened their first store in Poole, Dorset, 30 years ago and have slowly but surely built a cosmetic empire. They now have over 886 stores in 52 countries, with 205 stores being in the UK.
Despite competitor The Body Shop falling into administration of February last year where they were eventually acquired by German private equity firm Aurelius, Lush seems to be standing strong.
It seems, as Rowena shared, the pursuit to stay relevant has really paid off. Not only with striking brand collaborations with Nintendo and Mattel to coincide with the Super Mario Bros Movie and Barbie – both becoming culturally significant – they’ve stayed ‘true’ to the core of the brand.
Lush pride themselves on being ‘fresh’ and ‘vegan’, with founders – especially Mark and Mo Constantine – weaving their philanthropy through the business.
The brand has supported ‘grass roots’ charities and, as of 2024, have raised £100million since they started donating to causes around the globe in 2007.
Although Lush have been caught up in controversary due their campaigning, including raising awareness about British ‘spy-cops’ who forged intimate relationships with female activists, they have stayed true to their core – all while accepting they need to constantly evolve to stay “relevant.”
Rowena shared that keeping relevant also weaves in with being ‘on the ball’ when it comes to getting involved with what people are socially concerned about at the time.
She continued: “There’s a lot of waking up that needs to be done and a lot of action that needs to be taken.
“So being there and being busy doing that, making people think about their day to day – not instructing them – it’s the education of it. If we can educate you on fox hunting or shark finning, you’re aware of it and can make a choice.
“You might think when going into a restaurant or in the countryside seeing gentleman on the back of their horses chasing a fox, instead of thinking ‘how beautiful does that look on a crisp winters day’ you might think – ‘b***ards!’.”
Trend forecaster Disha Daswaney believes that those in beauty and wellness, along with Lush, will be the survivors among high-street shops.
It’s a booming industry that doesn’t seem to be slowing, which is aided by the influencer culture of social media.
Despite making the choice to come off socials – including X and Instagram – a number of years ago due to platforms not aligning with Lush’s values, the brand continues to grow – introducing a fragrance range and in-house spa services more recently.
Despite experiencing a slight decline in brand turnover in 2023, Lush still managed to make a huge £816.8m, which is a decline of 2.3% on 2022.
On Lush and it’s longevity, Disha concluded: “They have cleverly thought about consumer experience through treatments, technology, and category-specific spaces.
“Lush is consistently at the forefront of what interests their diverse consumer base and appeals to them seamlessly.
“Beauty and wellness stores will have the longest-lasting impact. The global beauty market is predicted to reach $580billion by 2027 and is steadily growing and innovating.
“These stores provide consumers with a sense of comfort and offer vital experiences that they can tap into from time to time.”