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    This case is about a successful entrepreneurial start-up called Lush. Mark Constantine, a trichologist, started ‘Lush’ with a single store in the UK in 1995. Lush went on to become a famous cosmetic company in the world, having over 750 stores in 45 countries by 2011. Lush was unique in many ways. It had a strong stand against using chemicals, animal testing and packaging. Lush used a lot of natural materials like fruits in its products such as soaps, shampoos, gels, etc. To avoid harming the environment, Lush used as little packaging as possible and mostly had solid products. Even for transportation, the company innovatively used popcorns to be eco-friendly as well as to protect the products. Because of natural ingredients, even the life of their products was longer. Lush also had a unique philosophy to encourage innovation. Once a year they would have a ‘Mafia Meeting’ wherein they would discard one third of their products that weren’t doing well. This encouraged employees to come up with something new and innovative. Mark also had a very hands-on approach and would be involved in almost every aspect of the company. This case covers the interesting journey of the entrepreneur Mark Constantine from initially becoming the biggest supplier for Body Shop, to starting a company – ‘Cosmetics to go’ which failed, to opening Lush and the challenges he faced.

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    Lush: A Rarity in the Cosmetics Industry

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    This case is about a successful entrepreneurial start-up called Lush. Mark Constantine, a trichologist, started ‘Lush’ with a single store in the UK in 1995. Lush went on to become a famous cosmetic company in the world, having over 750 stores in 45 countries by 2011. Lush was unique in many ways. It had a strong stand against using chemicals, animal testing and packaging. Lush used a lot of natural materials like fruits in its products such as soaps, shampoos, gels, etc. To avoid harming the environment, Lush used as little packaging as possible and mostly had solid products. Even for transportation, the company innovatively used popcorns to be eco-friendly as well as to protect the products. Because of natural ingredients, even the life of their products was longer. Lush also had a unique philosophy to encourage innovation. Once a year they would have a ‘Mafia Meeting’ wherein they would discard one third of their products that weren’t doing well. This encouraged employees to come up with something new and innovative. Mark also had a very hands-on approach and would be involved in almost every aspect of the company. This case covers the interesting journey of the entrepreneur Mark Constantine from initially becoming the biggest supplier for Body Shop, to starting a company – ‘Cosmetics to go’ which failed, to opening Lush and the challenges he faced.

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    8 views1 page

    Lush: A Rarity in The Cosmetics Industry

    Uploaded by

    ETCASES
    This case is about a successful entrepreneurial start-up called Lush. Mark Constantine, a trichologist, started ‘Lush’ with a single store in the UK in 1995. Lush went on to become a famous cosmetic company in the world, having over 750 stores in 45 countries by 2011. Lush was unique in many ways. It had a strong stand against using chemicals, animal testing and packaging. Lush used a lot of natural materials like fruits in its products such as soaps, shampoos, gels, etc. To avoid harming the environment, Lush used as little packaging as possible and mostly had solid products. Even for transportation, the company innovatively used popcorns to be eco-friendly as well as to protect the products. Because of natural ingredients, even the life of their products was longer. Lush also had a unique philosophy to encourage innovation. Once a year they would have a ‘Mafia Meeting’ wherein they would discard one third of their products that weren’t doing well. This encouraged employees to come up with something new and innovative. Mark also had a very hands-on approach and would be involved in almost every aspect of the company. This case covers the interesting journey of the entrepreneur Mark Constantine from initially becoming the biggest supplier for Body Shop, to starting a company – ‘Cosmetics to go’ which failed, to opening Lush and the challenges he faced.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    of 1

    GSMC 2014

    Global Summit on
    Management Cases

    LUSH: A RARITY IN THE COSMETICS INDUSTRY*


    ABSTRACT
    This case is about a successful entrepreneurial start-up called Lush. Mark Constantine, a trichologist,
    started Lush with a single store in the UK in 1995. Lush went on to become a famous cosmetic company
    in the world, having over 750 stores in 45 countries by 2011. Lush was unique in many ways. It had a
    strong stand against using chemicals, animal testing and packaging. Lush used a lot of natural materials
    like fruits in its products such as soaps, shampoos, gels, etc. To avoid harming the environment, Lush
    used as little packaging as possible and mostly had solid products. Even for transportation, the company
    innovatively used popcorns to be eco-friendly as well as to protect the products. Because of natural
    ingredients, even the life of their products was longer. Lush also had a unique philosophy to encourage
    innovation. Once a year they would have a Mafia Meeting wherein they would discard one third of their
    products that werent doing well. This encouraged employees to come up with something new and
    innovative. Mark also had a very hands-on approach and would be involved in almost every aspect of the
    company. This case covers the interesting journey of the entrepreneur Mark Constantine from initially
    becoming the biggest supplier for Body Shop, to starting a company Cosmetics to go which failed, to
    opening Lush and the challenges he faced.

    Pedagogical Objectives
    This case is designed to enable students to:

    Understand the various challenges faced by an entrepreneur.

    Understand the factors which influence the success of an entrepreneurial venture.

    Assert the possible reasons for the failure of the previous start ups by Mark Constantine.

    Analyse whether Lush was truly an ethical company the way it projected itself.

    Analyse whether a business can be successful while functioning in a truly ethical way

    Analyze and assess the stand taken by Lush under the leadership of Mark regarding the support extended
    to various campaigns and also the funding provided to controversial organizations

    Visualize the future of Lush without Mark Constantine

    Case Positioning and Setting


    This case is meant for MBA students as a part of the Business Strategy/Marketing Management curriculum.

    * GSMC 2014, IIM Raipur

    www.etcases.com

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