Lush washes off Body Shop fears as sales surge
Bath-bomb maker Lush does not fear a comeback from The Body Shop when the retailer finds new owners, its finance chief said today.
L’Oréal said last month it is considering selling the ethical beauty chain amid flagging sales and profits. CVC Capital Partners was this weekend touted as a possible buyer.
Lush’s Kim Coles said The Body Shop had “lost its way” and had a “long way to go” to regain its past prowess.
"When L’Oréal took over a lot of loyal Body Shop customers left them. I don't think they come back very quickly."
Lush saw sales surge 26% to £723 million in the year ended in June, while pretax profits were up by 76% at £43.2 million. The company also put aside £6.9 million for charities and good causes, 15% more than the year before.
Coles said shifting to bigger, better stores and product innovation had helped drive growth. Its UK stores now on average turnover £1 million.
In the first half of its current year, sales at UK stores open for more than a year were up 13% in the six months to December 31.
Its recent performance had enabled Lush to introduce improved wages and benefits packages for staff. Coles added.
Those include a move to at least the £8.45 hourly wage recommended by the Living Wage Foundation from April for all UK emplouyees, improving parental pay and introducing childcare funding benefits.