1
00:00:02,320 --> 00:00:05,760
Speaker 1: Something's coming Big Business.

2
00:00:10,560 --> 00:00:13,360
Speaker 2: Hi, I'm Britney Saunders and welcome to Big Business, the

3
00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:16,120
Speaker 2: place where business is far from boring. And today I'm

4
00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:19,239
Speaker 2: recording on gaddigul Land. Now, I somehow managed to build

5
00:00:19,239 --> 00:00:22,040
Speaker 2: an empire from the garage underneath my house, and I'm

6
00:00:22,079 --> 00:00:24,160
Speaker 2: here to share it all with you, from the wins,

7
00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:28,680
Speaker 2: the mistakes, the challenging times, and the funny moments in between. So,

8
00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:31,360
Speaker 2: whether you're in business already, perhaps you're not in the

9
00:00:31,400 --> 00:00:33,560
Speaker 2: game at all, Maybe you're just looking for some inspo,

10
00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:35,879
Speaker 2: or you simply just want to hear the tea, this

11
00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:39,000
Speaker 2: is the podcast for you. Coming up on today's episode,

12
00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:41,880
Speaker 2: I think this is our most exciting guest to date.

13
00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:46,000
Speaker 3: Xander like I am just like full of adrenaline.

14
00:00:46,159 --> 00:00:48,440
Speaker 2: She's a celebrity. Yeah, she's a celebrity.

15
00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:48,800
Speaker 4: Yeah.

16
00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:52,640
Speaker 3: I was completely locked in to this entire interview, not

17
00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:53,880
Speaker 3: that I haven't been locked.

18
00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:55,720
Speaker 2: In too everyone else, not to shade our other guests,

19
00:00:55,720 --> 00:00:59,080
Speaker 2: but today we are joined by none other than Rowena Byird,

20
00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:01,760
Speaker 2: who is one of the co founders and the director

21
00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:06,160
Speaker 2: of Lush, the Lush cosmetics that we all know and

22
00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:09,000
Speaker 2: love and have had in our baths and in our bathrooms.

23
00:01:09,160 --> 00:01:14,160
Speaker 3: Yep, that just gifted us this amazing Christmas Advent calendar,

24
00:01:14,720 --> 00:01:16,160
Speaker 3: and the room already.

25
00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:19,679
Speaker 2: Smells amazing lush. Yeah, it smells lush. And we are

26
00:01:19,760 --> 00:01:22,440
Speaker 2: so excited to have Rowena on the pod to talk

27
00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:26,320
Speaker 2: all things Lush from humble beginnings to thirty years in

28
00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:29,680
Speaker 2: business today, Rowena, welcome to big Business.

29
00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:31,480
Speaker 4: Thank you. It's lovely to be here.

30
00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:33,200
Speaker 2: I'm so excited to have you. I feel like I'm

31
00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:34,560
Speaker 2: sitting with a legend right now.

32
00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:36,959
Speaker 4: If I'm being honest, that makes me so much older

33
00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:37,639
Speaker 4: than I am.

34
00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:41,760
Speaker 2: A young legend. You were just saying, actually that you

35
00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:44,039
Speaker 2: are disappointed that you don't get to go see a

36
00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:47,160
Speaker 2: fate store. Yeah I am. Next time, we'll have to

37
00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:49,680
Speaker 2: get you to one. I'm so excited to chat with

38
00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:52,600
Speaker 2: you today. Every time we have a guest on the podcast,

39
00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:54,360
Speaker 2: we always get them to do a little bit of

40
00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:56,800
Speaker 2: an intro with you and Lush. I feel like there

41
00:01:56,880 --> 00:01:59,480
Speaker 2: is no intro needed, but I think, just in case

42
00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:01,880
Speaker 2: anyone has been living under a rock that is listening

43
00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:03,880
Speaker 2: to this episode right now, can you tell us a

44
00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:07,400
Speaker 2: bit about Lush and yourself, your role in the company,

45
00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:09,560
Speaker 2: where it began, and where you are now.

46
00:02:10,120 --> 00:02:13,560
Speaker 4: Okay, so we began thirty years ago, so we're celebrating

47
00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:14,280
Speaker 4: thirty years.

48
00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:16,320
Speaker 2: Thank you, congratulations.

49
00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:18,360
Speaker 4: And I got married at the same years I was

50
00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:21,679
Speaker 4: opening the business with myself my FO co founders, so yeah,

51
00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:24,320
Speaker 4: six of us. We had a previous business. We've worked

52
00:02:24,320 --> 00:02:27,440
Speaker 4: together for like over forty years now, wow, together, and

53
00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:31,840
Speaker 4: we started we had a business. We lost that and

54
00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:34,040
Speaker 4: what was that business? That was cosmetics to go? So

55
00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:36,800
Speaker 4: that was mail order. Okay. We used to manufacture for

56
00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:39,639
Speaker 4: the Body Shop, so we manufactured and invented like half

57
00:02:39,639 --> 00:02:45,080
Speaker 4: of their products and then they went live. They floated. Yeah,

58
00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:50,079
Speaker 4: for the expression is and the listed. Yeah, so body

59
00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:53,800
Speaker 4: Shop listed and the shareholders they say, well, you can't

60
00:02:53,840 --> 00:02:57,080
Speaker 4: be so reliant on one company with making half of

61
00:02:57,120 --> 00:02:59,440
Speaker 4: your product. Yeah. So we sold them the formulas and

62
00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:01,960
Speaker 4: then we had some exclusions so we could only we

63
00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:05,600
Speaker 4: could not retail, but we could do mail order. So

64
00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:07,640
Speaker 4: we did mail order. So it'd be thirty four, thirty

65
00:03:07,639 --> 00:03:08,280
Speaker 4: five years ago.

66
00:03:08,520 --> 00:03:10,160
Speaker 2: Wow, And what did that look like back then?

67
00:03:10,280 --> 00:03:12,239
Speaker 4: Just for it was very different?

68
00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:13,080
Speaker 2: They how did it work?

69
00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:16,800
Speaker 4: So because mail order then was really big catalogs and

70
00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:19,720
Speaker 4: you waited three weeks for it to turn up, and

71
00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:21,720
Speaker 4: we thought, why are you waiting that long? If I've

72
00:03:21,720 --> 00:03:23,280
Speaker 4: got an order, why don't we just send it out

73
00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:25,120
Speaker 4: same day? So I think we were one of the

74
00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:27,840
Speaker 4: first pioneers for doing the same day posting ours.

75
00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:30,640
Speaker 2: And so Pick customers would get a catalog of products

76
00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:32,520
Speaker 2: and then pig and like put their order in and

77
00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:33,800
Speaker 2: then wait, he waits for it.

78
00:03:34,120 --> 00:03:36,480
Speaker 4: You had to phone it in, you had to send

79
00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:41,520
Speaker 4: a check, I know. I mean, it's unbelievable when anything

80
00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:43,680
Speaker 4: is so instant. So yeah, you would have phoned your ordering,

81
00:03:43,760 --> 00:03:45,880
Speaker 4: or you would have written it in with a check,

82
00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:48,280
Speaker 4: or you'd have given us your credit card over the phones.

83
00:03:48,680 --> 00:03:51,560
Speaker 4: So and then we would get the parcels out pretty

84
00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:52,320
Speaker 4: much straight.

85
00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:54,920
Speaker 2: Away, and you thought, yeah, back then, let's make this

86
00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:55,600
Speaker 2: way quicker.

87
00:03:55,760 --> 00:03:57,840
Speaker 4: Yeah, and that's why we called it cosmetics to Go

88
00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:00,640
Speaker 4: because it was like straight away.

89
00:04:00,600 --> 00:04:03,600
Speaker 2: Right, were you selling your own cosmetics back then?

90
00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:07,040
Speaker 4: Yeah? Well yeah, So each each one it was like

91
00:04:07,080 --> 00:04:10,600
Speaker 4: a ranges within a range, So Cosmetics Ago was the umbrella,

92
00:04:10,680 --> 00:04:13,000
Speaker 4: and then within that you'd have lots of different ranges.

93
00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:16,240
Speaker 4: So you'd have a range that could have a piece

94
00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:18,320
Speaker 4: of hair care in it, it could have a face

95
00:04:18,400 --> 00:04:20,040
Speaker 4: mask in it, all in the same thing. So then

96
00:04:20,080 --> 00:04:23,839
Speaker 4: each one was individually packaged, individual label designs.

97
00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:26,480
Speaker 2: So it was like brands within brands, but it was

98
00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:28,720
Speaker 2: all brands, but it was all us weeah And what

99
00:04:28,839 --> 00:04:30,840
Speaker 2: was it about beauty that made you get into that

100
00:04:30,920 --> 00:04:31,719
Speaker 2: in the first place?

101
00:04:32,160 --> 00:04:36,400
Speaker 4: I started as a beauty therapist, so even like very young,

102
00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:39,640
Speaker 4: I used to collect makeup so my mum's friends would

103
00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:41,760
Speaker 4: give me the ends of their makeup. And I used

104
00:04:41,760 --> 00:04:44,880
Speaker 4: to decorate my dad, my granddad's head because it was

105
00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:47,160
Speaker 4: called but he used to sit there very patiently and

106
00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:49,279
Speaker 4: let me make faces on him. And I had an

107
00:04:49,279 --> 00:04:51,920
Speaker 4: auntie Penny, who was very, very glamorous, and I loved

108
00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:54,640
Speaker 4: her dressing table, so she was such an inspiration. I

109
00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:57,520
Speaker 4: would spend hours at her dressing table, filing through and

110
00:04:57,520 --> 00:04:59,599
Speaker 4: I'm quite sure that she would never know I've been there.

111
00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:02,080
Speaker 4: She must have been like, oh, she's been here again.

112
00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:05,960
Speaker 4: So and it was just such a passion. And I

113
00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:07,839
Speaker 4: went to a careers officer and I thought, I don't

114
00:05:07,839 --> 00:05:09,040
Speaker 4: know what I'm going to do. You know, you get

115
00:05:09,040 --> 00:05:10,600
Speaker 4: to that age where you've got to make a decision.

116
00:05:10,600 --> 00:05:12,600
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, I feel like now you thirteen year olds

117
00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:13,960
Speaker 2: are questioning what they need to do in my life,

118
00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:15,880
Speaker 2: and how are they supposed to know when they're thirteen

119
00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:16,440
Speaker 2: years old?

120
00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:18,479
Speaker 4: Well, I didn't know what I was doing. I would

121
00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:22,440
Speaker 4: have been seventeen, I suppose eighteen maybe. And I went

122
00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:24,040
Speaker 4: to a careers officer and he took one look at me.

123
00:05:24,080 --> 00:05:26,440
Speaker 4: I had a wig on, I had different colored nails,

124
00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:30,640
Speaker 4: probably different colored ties. It would have been like full makeup. Yeah,

125
00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:33,560
Speaker 4: And he said, well, what about beauty therapy? And I

126
00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:37,960
Speaker 4: didn't even know that existed as a job or even anything.

127
00:05:38,320 --> 00:05:41,479
Speaker 4: And I had the right qualifications. So yeah, I managed

128
00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:44,080
Speaker 4: to get into college. I did beauty therapy for two years.

129
00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:47,400
Speaker 4: Finished that. Always wanted to live by the seaside because

130
00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:49,920
Speaker 4: I come from the midlands of the UK, always wanted

131
00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:52,080
Speaker 4: to live by the seaside. A job came up in Pool,

132
00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:54,680
Speaker 4: went for the interview, got the job, got to live

133
00:05:54,720 --> 00:05:57,400
Speaker 4: by the seaside, and then began working with Mark and

134
00:05:57,440 --> 00:05:58,719
Speaker 4: I've been there ever since.

135
00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:03,800
Speaker 2: Wow, So that business stopped at some point, Yes it did.

136
00:06:03,839 --> 00:06:08,479
Speaker 4: We managed to overtrade. We did way too much customer service. Really,

137
00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:10,359
Speaker 4: that cost us more money. And when you get to

138
00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:13,559
Speaker 4: the point where every parcel you send out actually costs

139
00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:14,960
Speaker 4: you more than you're making.

140
00:06:14,680 --> 00:06:18,120
Speaker 2: So the numbers were just not numberingers, weren't They weren't

141
00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:19,520
Speaker 2: And so you had to close.

142
00:06:19,839 --> 00:06:22,720
Speaker 4: Yeah, so we closed down. Well, we went into receivership.

143
00:06:22,760 --> 00:06:26,600
Speaker 4: So the bank gave us really bad information okay, and

144
00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:29,760
Speaker 4: said you have to be receivers And now, yeah, with hindsight,

145
00:06:29,839 --> 00:06:32,880
Speaker 4: we realize actually we probably could have done something different anyway,

146
00:06:32,880 --> 00:06:36,760
Speaker 4: in a way, it doesn't matter things. Yeah, you're learning,

147
00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:38,960
Speaker 4: aren't you. And that's what business is about, isn't it.

148
00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:41,919
Speaker 4: It's learning all the time and hoping every day. Yeah,

149
00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:44,920
Speaker 4: I'm learning every day. I make mistakes every day. We're

150
00:06:44,920 --> 00:06:47,320
Speaker 4: still are thirty years and you're still learning every day.

151
00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:47,680
Speaker 1: Wow.

152
00:06:47,720 --> 00:06:49,479
Speaker 2: And so when you had that first business and it

153
00:06:49,520 --> 00:06:52,679
Speaker 2: didn't work out and everything kind of went pair shaped,

154
00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:54,360
Speaker 2: how did you feel back then?

155
00:06:54,600 --> 00:06:59,360
Speaker 4: Did you think, oh, this is the end, like it's over. No,

156
00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:02,160
Speaker 4: you just sort of think, oh, I'm going to do next?

157
00:07:02,160 --> 00:07:05,680
Speaker 4: Then you know, I don't know. And so I was

158
00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:07,800
Speaker 4: going to be a balloon pilot. So I went off

159
00:07:07,839 --> 00:07:10,920
Speaker 4: to pre Instrand. I thought I'm going to be a

160
00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:15,600
Speaker 4: balloon pilot. Then so pearl Instrand makes balloons and linked

161
00:07:15,640 --> 00:07:17,480
Speaker 4: with camera and balloons, I think in the UK, so

162
00:07:17,560 --> 00:07:19,280
Speaker 4: I went there and I saw how the balloons were

163
00:07:19,280 --> 00:07:24,280
Speaker 4: made everything. Yeah, I would be a pilot. But Mark

164
00:07:24,760 --> 00:07:27,440
Speaker 4: Constantins one of the founders. He'd said to me, you're

165
00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:30,240
Speaker 4: worth all of this money. You're worth this, you're worth that.

166
00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:32,880
Speaker 4: Don't let them beat you down. And so of course

167
00:07:32,880 --> 00:07:36,080
Speaker 4: I went in full of expectation. I know my value.

168
00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:39,000
Speaker 4: But of course he didn't and I didn't get the job.

169
00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:42,720
Speaker 4: So it was like, oh, so I came home and

170
00:07:43,760 --> 00:07:45,480
Speaker 4: I mean I got the interview because I wrote a

171
00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:47,840
Speaker 4: CV and I attached a bag of chocolate buttons to it.

172
00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:50,320
Speaker 4: Oh and they'd never had that before where somebody had

173
00:07:50,320 --> 00:07:52,480
Speaker 4: actually sent them a little gift in with the CVS.

174
00:07:52,560 --> 00:07:54,720
Speaker 4: Well that's how I got the interview. So there's a

175
00:07:54,720 --> 00:08:00,320
Speaker 4: handy hint for anybody sending out chocolate. Add chocolate. Yeah,

176
00:08:00,400 --> 00:08:02,160
Speaker 4: and so yeah, I didn't get that. And then Mo

177
00:08:02,360 --> 00:08:05,160
Speaker 4: had a birthday party in her garden. So it's Mark

178
00:08:05,200 --> 00:08:08,600
Speaker 4: and Mos another couple, one of the founders. So sheared

179
00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:12,360
Speaker 4: a birthday party. We all turned up and then Helen

180
00:08:12,480 --> 00:08:15,080
Speaker 4: just said, because we own twenty nine High Street, which

181
00:08:15,120 --> 00:08:17,440
Speaker 4: is the head office. And Helen said, I'm going to

182
00:08:17,440 --> 00:08:20,320
Speaker 4: go and start making product and if you're going into

183
00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:23,560
Speaker 4: make product, I'll come in and I'll sell it, Okay.

184
00:08:23,600 --> 00:08:27,080
Speaker 4: So and really that's how it started. So I just

185
00:08:27,200 --> 00:08:30,240
Speaker 4: met a boyfriend then who was a carpenter, very handy.

186
00:08:30,480 --> 00:08:31,360
Speaker 4: He's now my husband.

187
00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:36,080
Speaker 2: So I've got an electrician partner. So he's still like

188
00:08:36,160 --> 00:08:39,040
Speaker 2: he runs my company with me now. But when we met,

189
00:08:39,080 --> 00:08:41,440
Speaker 2: he was an electrician and he was just working his

190
00:08:41,559 --> 00:08:44,320
Speaker 2: job and then just naturally helped me. And now he's

191
00:08:44,360 --> 00:08:49,040
Speaker 2: my electrician, he's my builder, he's my cleaner, he's handyman,

192
00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:51,760
Speaker 2: and he's doing all of our finances too.

193
00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:54,560
Speaker 4: So yeah, yes, I've got one of those I love. Yeah,

194
00:08:54,920 --> 00:08:57,520
Speaker 4: everyone needs if you can find one. Yeah, hold on.

195
00:08:57,600 --> 00:08:59,719
Speaker 2: Have you seen though? Vogue said recently that like having

196
00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:01,960
Speaker 2: a friend isn't cool, but I think if it's like

197
00:09:02,040 --> 00:09:04,840
Speaker 2: a disagree, it's yeah, okay.

198
00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:07,280
Speaker 4: I used to run three at a time once to

199
00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:08,240
Speaker 4: take you out for dinner.

200
00:09:09,800 --> 00:09:13,040
Speaker 2: I might take that advice and do that. Sorry, a

201
00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:16,840
Speaker 2: j I need someone to take me up for dinner.

202
00:09:17,559 --> 00:09:19,079
Speaker 4: So that's how you find the right one. I think

203
00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:20,560
Speaker 4: you found the right one. You don't need to. I

204
00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:22,920
Speaker 4: was busy looking to see what I was going to do. Yes,

205
00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:25,200
Speaker 4: you need to explain you have the one that can

206
00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:26,040
Speaker 4: put the shelves up.

207
00:09:27,040 --> 00:09:28,920
Speaker 2: Or you find one that can do that does it all,

208
00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:31,160
Speaker 2: which we've got. Yeah, so that's how the idea of

209
00:09:31,200 --> 00:09:31,959
Speaker 2: Lush was born.

210
00:09:32,400 --> 00:09:35,680
Speaker 4: So Lush was it was yeah, yeah, really it was

211
00:09:35,880 --> 00:09:38,240
Speaker 4: when I'm going to go back in. So Mike and

212
00:09:38,240 --> 00:09:40,720
Speaker 4: I went in and we redid the shop that we

213
00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:44,840
Speaker 4: had there and painted it and decorated it. Liz came

214
00:09:44,880 --> 00:09:47,679
Speaker 4: in and said, well, I'll train on the products. What

215
00:09:47,720 --> 00:09:50,080
Speaker 4: products are we going to make? And Mark came in.

216
00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:52,600
Speaker 4: We used to make the products upstairs, then they'd carry

217
00:09:52,600 --> 00:09:55,640
Speaker 4: them downstairs. I'd put them on the shelf Mark and

218
00:09:55,640 --> 00:09:59,040
Speaker 4: I'd stay in the evenings and rewrite copy on blackboards.

219
00:09:59,320 --> 00:10:01,480
Speaker 4: With Mark and I went round a lot of shops

220
00:10:01,559 --> 00:10:04,400
Speaker 4: looking for what was the inspiration what did we want

221
00:10:04,400 --> 00:10:07,320
Speaker 4: our shop to look like? And you don't have to

222
00:10:07,400 --> 00:10:11,760
Speaker 4: be original yourself, you know, you can cut, you can

223
00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:15,040
Speaker 4: borrow other people's ideas, you can be inspired by everything.

224
00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:17,680
Speaker 4: So the inspirations we had was we were going to

225
00:10:17,760 --> 00:10:21,440
Speaker 4: use dark furniture, dark wood furniture. So that was Paul Smith,

226
00:10:21,760 --> 00:10:24,640
Speaker 4: so his shop, you know, the designer. Yeah, so his

227
00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:27,079
Speaker 4: shop was all wooden. We went to the cheese shop.

228
00:10:27,559 --> 00:10:31,040
Speaker 4: We're going to make soaps in big round chunks and

229
00:10:31,080 --> 00:10:33,360
Speaker 4: then you know, in green grocery type things, we're going

230
00:10:33,440 --> 00:10:36,320
Speaker 4: to cut it so customers can cut whatever sized chunk

231
00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:39,959
Speaker 4: they want. Well, that was not done before. And then

232
00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:42,719
Speaker 4: we went to a wine shop Oddbins and they used

233
00:10:42,720 --> 00:10:46,600
Speaker 4: to write on a blackboard underneath the white this wind

234
00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:49,320
Speaker 4: Oh it goes great with spag bog. So we're also like,

235
00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:54,800
Speaker 4: well we'll use the blackboard idea. And or we went

236
00:10:54,840 --> 00:10:57,720
Speaker 4: to a market and we'd been to markets in Sweden,

237
00:10:57,920 --> 00:11:00,839
Speaker 4: fruit markets, and then the fruit market when they're all

238
00:11:00,880 --> 00:11:03,360
Speaker 4: out and the fruit is all laid out, stacked and

239
00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:06,120
Speaker 4: looks beautiful. Ye yep, that's how we'll do the ballistics

240
00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:08,440
Speaker 4: and we'll make it look like fruit. And because we

241
00:11:08,440 --> 00:11:10,959
Speaker 4: didn't have any money, so we're not going to package everything.

242
00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:14,079
Speaker 4: So you come from cosmetics to go where every individual

243
00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:17,079
Speaker 4: thing was packaged, so each piece of soap was wrapped

244
00:11:17,080 --> 00:11:20,120
Speaker 4: and designed, each ballistic was wrapped and designed, which is

245
00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:22,640
Speaker 4: what I did. That was my job there. So coming

246
00:11:22,760 --> 00:11:24,000
Speaker 4: is it was like, well, what am I going to

247
00:11:24,040 --> 00:11:26,240
Speaker 4: do then if we're not going to package everything, and

248
00:11:26,280 --> 00:11:27,960
Speaker 4: it's like what it doesn't matter. We're not going to

249
00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:30,080
Speaker 4: package and we ain't going any money, so there's nothing

250
00:11:30,120 --> 00:11:30,480
Speaker 4: we can do.

251
00:11:30,559 --> 00:11:33,120
Speaker 2: So the idea of Lush not having the packaging started

252
00:11:33,160 --> 00:11:35,480
Speaker 2: from you not having money to do the packaging exactly.

253
00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:41,000
Speaker 4: Yeah, I know, and now look at it. Yeah, and

254
00:11:41,440 --> 00:11:44,000
Speaker 4: I was like, well, well, we'll never sell soap if

255
00:11:44,040 --> 00:11:45,920
Speaker 4: it hasn't got packaged. What if people touch it? And

256
00:11:45,920 --> 00:11:48,160
Speaker 4: Noyboy's gonna want that because soap it doesn't matter because

257
00:11:49,720 --> 00:11:51,640
Speaker 4: so you just wash it off and it's not bothered

258
00:11:51,640 --> 00:11:52,520
Speaker 4: anybody since.

259
00:11:52,600 --> 00:11:55,920
Speaker 2: So, wow, that's amazing. And back then when Lush was

260
00:11:55,960 --> 00:11:58,600
Speaker 2: first born with this idea of it being the one store,

261
00:11:59,200 --> 00:12:01,880
Speaker 2: what was your back then did you have a vision

262
00:12:01,920 --> 00:12:04,600
Speaker 2: of it to become something what it is today or

263
00:12:04,640 --> 00:12:06,840
Speaker 2: even close too, or was it just we'll just do

264
00:12:06,960 --> 00:12:08,280
Speaker 2: this and see how it goes.

265
00:12:08,480 --> 00:12:10,600
Speaker 4: Yeah. We So we have our first little shop in Pool,

266
00:12:10,960 --> 00:12:14,080
Speaker 4: which is tiny little town really on the South coast,

267
00:12:14,520 --> 00:12:16,120
Speaker 4: and then we thought, right, if we can open shops

268
00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:18,880
Speaker 4: in London, that'll be great because people will see us

269
00:12:18,920 --> 00:12:21,959
Speaker 4: if we're in London. Yeah, so we'll have successful shops

270
00:12:22,280 --> 00:12:25,320
Speaker 4: and so we yeah, we wanted to open shops just

271
00:12:25,360 --> 00:12:27,280
Speaker 4: within the m twenty five of London and that would

272
00:12:27,320 --> 00:12:29,320
Speaker 4: have been enough. So we opened our first little one

273
00:12:29,360 --> 00:12:32,280
Speaker 4: in Covent Garden, which was smaller than your studio. It

274
00:12:32,400 --> 00:12:34,679
Speaker 4: was tiny little thing. Actually you could only have one

275
00:12:34,679 --> 00:12:36,440
Speaker 4: member of staff in there otherwise there's no room for

276
00:12:36,480 --> 00:12:40,760
Speaker 4: the customers. Well, so it was very funny. And then

277
00:12:40,840 --> 00:12:42,439
Speaker 4: oh yeah, so it had nothing. You had to shut

278
00:12:42,480 --> 00:12:44,120
Speaker 4: the door if when you wanted to go and get

279
00:12:44,160 --> 00:12:46,720
Speaker 4: more hot water to do demos, or you whine in

280
00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:49,640
Speaker 4: to the loo or lunch, you had to shut the doors,

281
00:12:49,840 --> 00:12:52,320
Speaker 4: go out and come back. It on me, it was, yeah,

282
00:12:52,360 --> 00:12:54,280
Speaker 4: And so I was running that one while I was

283
00:12:54,400 --> 00:12:57,559
Speaker 4: organizing my wedding, so there was lots going on.

284
00:12:57,720 --> 00:12:58,079
Speaker 2: It was.

285
00:12:58,280 --> 00:13:01,360
Speaker 4: It was a fun first year. And then we found

286
00:13:01,360 --> 00:13:04,360
Speaker 4: a shop on the King's Road and really that's where

287
00:13:04,400 --> 00:13:06,280
Speaker 4: it all took off. So from the King's Road.

288
00:13:06,440 --> 00:13:08,640
Speaker 2: And how far into the business journey was that because

289
00:13:08,679 --> 00:13:10,679
Speaker 2: you was it within the first year? Wow, so you

290
00:13:10,760 --> 00:13:13,680
Speaker 2: launching ninety ninety five and then within that first year

291
00:13:13,679 --> 00:13:15,960
Speaker 2: you went up this is something you know.

292
00:13:16,040 --> 00:13:19,480
Speaker 4: Yeah, it was it was exciting. Yeah, when we were as

293
00:13:19,520 --> 00:13:21,840
Speaker 4: we opened more, I had to stop Mark sort of

294
00:13:21,880 --> 00:13:24,600
Speaker 4: hanging outside the front of the shop looking worried. Yeah,

295
00:13:24,880 --> 00:13:26,320
Speaker 4: is this going to be a success. Is it going

296
00:13:26,400 --> 00:13:28,040
Speaker 4: to be all right? You know? Him and Liz can

297
00:13:28,120 --> 00:13:30,200
Speaker 4: remember standing at the back of the shop and Liz said,

298
00:13:30,520 --> 00:13:34,200
Speaker 4: I think we're going to be okay, and we were. Yeah.

299
00:13:34,280 --> 00:13:35,800
Speaker 4: I used to hide on We used to have these

300
00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:39,200
Speaker 4: like trees, but they were shelving but they're sort of

301
00:13:39,280 --> 00:13:42,240
Speaker 4: round and you could stand behind them and not be

302
00:13:42,320 --> 00:13:44,080
Speaker 4: seen from the front door when the doors were locked.

303
00:13:44,120 --> 00:13:47,040
Speaker 4: And because I lived upstairs, so and he going down

304
00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:49,640
Speaker 4: into the shop, I just can't. And you can see

305
00:13:49,800 --> 00:13:52,679
Speaker 4: there's gaps in between the doors joining and people were

306
00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:54,760
Speaker 4: coming out and putting their noses up to the gap

307
00:13:54,800 --> 00:13:57,480
Speaker 4: in between and going, it smells really nice in there.

308
00:13:57,520 --> 00:13:59,200
Speaker 4: What they selling? Are they selling candles?

309
00:13:59,559 --> 00:14:00,880
Speaker 1: Is it? Yeah?

310
00:14:00,960 --> 00:14:03,240
Speaker 4: It's sort of like so you've got all these conversations

311
00:14:03,280 --> 00:14:05,280
Speaker 4: going on outside the door, and it's Yeah.

312
00:14:05,440 --> 00:14:07,800
Speaker 2: Back in those early days, what were the most popular

313
00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:08,640
Speaker 2: selling products.

314
00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:12,120
Speaker 4: Soap was really popular. Yeah, and people love the idea.

315
00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:14,600
Speaker 4: We used to have great, big blocks all across the walls.

316
00:14:14,600 --> 00:14:17,200
Speaker 4: We don't put so much out now, but it was.

317
00:14:17,559 --> 00:14:19,800
Speaker 4: It was really good fun. But ballistics have always been

318
00:14:20,400 --> 00:14:23,680
Speaker 4: popular and the still are, and they're popular even in Australia,

319
00:14:23,720 --> 00:14:26,520
Speaker 4: where you don't really do baths, you do more showers. Yeah,

320
00:14:26,840 --> 00:14:31,880
Speaker 4: so yeah, it's interesting, doesn't really change that much. The

321
00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:35,880
Speaker 4: different products within the categories change to some extent, but

322
00:14:36,640 --> 00:14:38,560
Speaker 4: not the rangers. It's I feel.

323
00:14:38,320 --> 00:14:42,320
Speaker 2: Like recently, well in my circles in my life, the

324
00:14:42,560 --> 00:14:45,280
Speaker 2: super milk and like your body sprays have become really

325
00:14:45,320 --> 00:14:47,800
Speaker 2: popular here. I love the super milk. I put it

326
00:14:47,840 --> 00:14:50,920
Speaker 2: on my body and hair and it just lasts that smell.

327
00:14:51,080 --> 00:14:52,640
Speaker 4: Yes, that's one of my favorites.

328
00:14:52,680 --> 00:14:55,520
Speaker 2: If you were wondering, Yeah, if you.

329
00:14:55,480 --> 00:14:57,400
Speaker 4: Wanted to know, I was hoping you might have said

330
00:14:57,480 --> 00:14:59,760
Speaker 4: roast jam, but hey, I had tried that.

331
00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:01,360
Speaker 2: Is it a stray?

332
00:15:01,680 --> 00:15:03,720
Speaker 4: Yes, okay, I'm gonna have to try there as well.

333
00:15:03,760 --> 00:15:05,600
Speaker 4: So and it smells of the jam that you make

334
00:15:05,680 --> 00:15:08,560
Speaker 4: from roses that depicts in Turkey at the beginning of

335
00:15:08,560 --> 00:15:10,800
Speaker 4: the season to make I do love a good rose smell.

336
00:15:10,960 --> 00:15:13,480
Speaker 2: So I'll have to go to Lush where I live

337
00:15:13,560 --> 00:15:18,880
Speaker 2: and I'll be like, yeah, I know the owner. Yeah, yeah,

338
00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:19,600
Speaker 2: we're friends.

339
00:15:27,240 --> 00:15:30,680
Speaker 1: Some thing's coming big business.

340
00:15:31,160 --> 00:15:32,760
Speaker 2: Well, one thing that I would love to chat with

341
00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:35,120
Speaker 2: you about Rowena, And I'm already going to I'm going

342
00:15:35,160 --> 00:15:36,440
Speaker 2: to say I feel like I could talk to you

343
00:15:36,480 --> 00:15:39,240
Speaker 2: for hours, but we've got limited time here because you're

344
00:15:39,240 --> 00:15:41,600
Speaker 2: a busy woman. But one thing I would like to

345
00:15:41,600 --> 00:15:45,960
Speaker 2: talk to you about is Lush not being on social media.

346
00:15:46,040 --> 00:15:49,920
Speaker 2: And this is especially interesting because my whole business I

347
00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:52,640
Speaker 2: have built on social media. So I feel like we

348
00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:56,080
Speaker 2: have differing opinions when it comes to social media. But

349
00:15:56,120 --> 00:15:59,400
Speaker 2: I'd love to know the story behind Lush deciding to

350
00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:03,680
Speaker 2: say goodbye to met, our Instagram, Facebook. What was the

351
00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:06,920
Speaker 2: reason behind that decision, And I'd love to talk about,

352
00:16:07,240 --> 00:16:09,680
Speaker 2: you know, the aftermath of you leaving social media and

353
00:16:09,720 --> 00:16:12,600
Speaker 2: how it has impacted your business, whether it be positive

354
00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:14,520
Speaker 2: or negative. So tell us.

355
00:16:14,960 --> 00:16:18,040
Speaker 4: So we decided when the big expose a came out

356
00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:23,240
Speaker 4: about you know how Facebook particularly knew how to make

357
00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:29,160
Speaker 4: their platform safe, especially for younger people, and yet they

358
00:16:29,200 --> 00:16:32,080
Speaker 4: refused to do anything about it. And you know a

359
00:16:32,120 --> 00:16:35,120
Speaker 4: lot of younger people look for Lush there to see

360
00:16:35,120 --> 00:16:37,320
Speaker 4: what we're doing, what we're up to, and we didn't

361
00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:43,440
Speaker 4: want to be where there was harmful content. Maybe they

362
00:16:43,440 --> 00:16:46,600
Speaker 4: could come across it. Our ethics director puts it really

363
00:16:46,680 --> 00:16:48,920
Speaker 4: nicely that it's sort of like we wouldn't put a

364
00:16:48,920 --> 00:16:51,440
Speaker 4: shop at the end of a dark alley and expect

365
00:16:51,480 --> 00:16:53,720
Speaker 4: people to come down and not be sure how safe

366
00:16:53,760 --> 00:16:55,600
Speaker 4: it was to get down that alley to our shop.

367
00:16:55,800 --> 00:16:58,240
Speaker 4: We wouldn't do that, but that's how we felt that

368
00:16:58,280 --> 00:17:02,040
Speaker 4: the social media was. So I mean, we're lucky we

369
00:17:02,040 --> 00:17:07,560
Speaker 4: were already established. Yes, so people already knew about us. Yeah,

370
00:17:07,600 --> 00:17:12,240
Speaker 4: So can we quantify the difference that's made to our business?

371
00:17:12,320 --> 00:17:16,120
Speaker 4: Not really. We didn't notice a slump, but we didn't

372
00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:16,840
Speaker 4: notice a rise.

373
00:17:17,119 --> 00:17:19,399
Speaker 2: Yeah, we just carried on, which is really good to

374
00:17:19,480 --> 00:17:21,760
Speaker 2: be honest, because there's a lot of business owners out there,

375
00:17:21,800 --> 00:17:24,000
Speaker 2: Like I know for myself, like my business is very

376
00:17:24,080 --> 00:17:26,600
Speaker 2: much online. We're very much on the Instagram and the

377
00:17:26,640 --> 00:17:28,800
Speaker 2: tiktoks and doing all the videos. Like that's how we've

378
00:17:28,880 --> 00:17:31,680
Speaker 2: kind of built and fostered our community. Whilst we still

379
00:17:31,680 --> 00:17:34,320
Speaker 2: have our physical stores, like we've only got five of those,

380
00:17:34,359 --> 00:17:36,919
Speaker 2: but we've got people shopping from all around Australia and

381
00:17:36,960 --> 00:17:39,760
Speaker 2: the world with us. But we are very much an

382
00:17:39,800 --> 00:17:42,160
Speaker 2: online brand. And I know for a fact that there

383
00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:45,760
Speaker 2: are other businesses that solely rely on you know, paid

384
00:17:45,800 --> 00:17:49,439
Speaker 2: ads to get those sales, and without that they.

385
00:17:49,320 --> 00:17:53,000
Speaker 4: Would we've done paid ads. So here we are thirty.

386
00:17:53,080 --> 00:17:56,520
Speaker 4: We're thirty years old. We've were in fifty three countries,

387
00:17:56,560 --> 00:17:59,919
Speaker 4: We've got over nine hundred stores. We've never done paid ads.

388
00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:02,199
Speaker 2: So would you say that brick and mortar is like

389
00:18:02,240 --> 00:18:05,439
Speaker 2: where it is where most of your revenue ald comes from.

390
00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:08,000
Speaker 4: Yeah, yes, it definitely is. So we do have online

391
00:18:08,359 --> 00:18:11,159
Speaker 4: see and you have their eyes around twenty percent of

392
00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:14,160
Speaker 4: the business. So you've got twenty percent is online and

393
00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:17,199
Speaker 4: the rest is retail because that's where people like to

394
00:18:17,200 --> 00:18:18,800
Speaker 4: go to lovel They want the experience.

395
00:18:18,920 --> 00:18:20,919
Speaker 2: That's what we talk about on the podcast. You know,

396
00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:24,359
Speaker 2: while we live in this very online shopping world and

397
00:18:24,400 --> 00:18:27,560
Speaker 2: everyone just order stuff online tonight and get it tomorrow

398
00:18:27,600 --> 00:18:31,359
Speaker 2: and it's like instant. I think for me personally as well,

399
00:18:31,720 --> 00:18:35,199
Speaker 2: people really do still want that in person connection and

400
00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:38,680
Speaker 2: going in and having an experience more than just shopping,

401
00:18:38,720 --> 00:18:41,080
Speaker 2: but the whole experience. And I feel like a Lush

402
00:18:41,119 --> 00:18:43,960
Speaker 2: store is a great example of an experience. When you

403
00:18:44,040 --> 00:18:47,640
Speaker 2: go in, it's visual, it's the smells, it's the feels

404
00:18:47,680 --> 00:18:50,560
Speaker 2: and the textures, and also just the connection with people.

405
00:18:51,240 --> 00:18:53,560
Speaker 4: And I think that's the most important thing, especially since

406
00:18:53,560 --> 00:18:56,320
Speaker 4: the pandemic where people had to cut themselves off from

407
00:18:56,359 --> 00:19:01,240
Speaker 4: other people, and we see ourselves as an oasis of kindness.

408
00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:04,560
Speaker 4: So it's like there's the shop. I mean, even now,

409
00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:07,840
Speaker 4: when you're buying something, you might just it's all self serve.

410
00:19:08,280 --> 00:19:10,240
Speaker 4: You don't even get to pass the time with something

411
00:19:10,280 --> 00:19:11,879
Speaker 4: you nobody's even going to say to you, having a

412
00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:14,879
Speaker 4: nice day, yeah, you know, or anything. There's no even

413
00:19:15,119 --> 00:19:17,920
Speaker 4: nothing yeah, not a hello, it's great, by have a

414
00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:21,080
Speaker 4: nice there's nothing. But when you come into a Lush store,

415
00:19:21,080 --> 00:19:24,560
Speaker 4: if you're looking for somebody to chat to, there's usually

416
00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:26,639
Speaker 4: several people around. It's so friendly.

417
00:19:26,720 --> 00:19:28,639
Speaker 2: Every time you go into a Lush store, it's like

418
00:19:28,720 --> 00:19:31,000
Speaker 2: they're they're there and they're happy to be there.

419
00:19:31,080 --> 00:19:33,720
Speaker 4: Yeah, which is amazing. And it's you know, we have

420
00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:36,240
Speaker 4: a lot of people that come in. They walk past

421
00:19:36,320 --> 00:19:39,280
Speaker 4: the store and they pop in just to say hello,

422
00:19:39,680 --> 00:19:41,679
Speaker 4: and and you have a little chat with them, and

423
00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:43,680
Speaker 4: then they tell they go, And it doesn't they don't

424
00:19:43,720 --> 00:19:45,960
Speaker 4: have to buy stuff. No, it's just come in and

425
00:19:46,800 --> 00:19:48,800
Speaker 4: have a nice time. There's plenty of people coming in

426
00:19:48,800 --> 00:19:51,240
Speaker 4: that want to buy things, So if you just want

427
00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:53,960
Speaker 4: to come in and have a smile with someone, then

428
00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:55,080
Speaker 4: that's actually fine too.

429
00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:58,280
Speaker 2: I love that because I feel the same with our stores, Like, yeah,

430
00:19:58,320 --> 00:20:00,640
Speaker 2: we don't care if someone's coming into buy a whole

431
00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:02,960
Speaker 2: wardrobe or just come in and try on and have

432
00:20:03,040 --> 00:20:05,560
Speaker 2: a chat and leave, Like I think I've done my job.

433
00:20:05,800 --> 00:20:08,359
Speaker 2: Yes either way, you know, so.

434
00:20:08,320 --> 00:20:10,760
Speaker 4: Can they come back another time? If people have a

435
00:20:10,800 --> 00:20:13,880
Speaker 4: lovely experience with you, I mean, whatever business you've got,

436
00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:16,760
Speaker 4: make it a friendly one, make it a kind to one,

437
00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:19,879
Speaker 4: and then people, if they're not buying from you straight away,

438
00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:24,199
Speaker 4: they remember you for that, because sadly, it's few and

439
00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:24,800
Speaker 4: far between.

440
00:20:26,040 --> 00:20:29,119
Speaker 2: If you were to be let's say, starting Lush today

441
00:20:30,119 --> 00:20:33,040
Speaker 2: and in the climate that we're in and the world

442
00:20:33,040 --> 00:20:35,359
Speaker 2: that we're in and this online social media world that

443
00:20:35,359 --> 00:20:37,720
Speaker 2: we're in, or let's say someone was starting a business today,

444
00:20:37,960 --> 00:20:40,399
Speaker 2: what would your advice be to yourself or to that

445
00:20:40,480 --> 00:20:43,080
Speaker 2: person if they weren't going to go down the social

446
00:20:43,080 --> 00:20:45,560
Speaker 2: media route with starting a new business, Like, what would

447
00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:47,520
Speaker 2: be your tips and advice for them?

448
00:20:47,720 --> 00:20:49,960
Speaker 4: I mean the way I always think about it. So

449
00:20:50,040 --> 00:20:51,640
Speaker 4: if I was going to start at the business again,

450
00:20:51,680 --> 00:20:55,320
Speaker 4: I was like, get your team right. If you want

451
00:20:55,359 --> 00:20:58,359
Speaker 4: to be your soul you're the sole business owner, you

452
00:20:58,440 --> 00:21:00,920
Speaker 4: still need a team around you. You still need your

453
00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:03,760
Speaker 4: your young man with you, don't you doing all the things?

454
00:21:03,880 --> 00:21:04,120
Speaker 2: Yeah?

455
00:21:04,240 --> 00:21:07,719
Speaker 4: So you know, with the co founders, each of us

456
00:21:07,760 --> 00:21:10,280
Speaker 4: has a different skill set. Yeah. So Mark has the

457
00:21:10,359 --> 00:21:14,600
Speaker 4: vision MOA's runs the manufacturing and has a passion for that.

458
00:21:14,840 --> 00:21:17,400
Speaker 4: Helen has the passion for the fine detail on the product.

459
00:21:18,440 --> 00:21:21,600
Speaker 4: Paul was all about the tech and making sure that

460
00:21:21,640 --> 00:21:24,720
Speaker 4: we had labels and all that sort of stuff. Liz

461
00:21:24,840 --> 00:21:27,919
Speaker 4: was training and nurturing. We now have Carl who is

462
00:21:28,280 --> 00:21:30,880
Speaker 4: our legal sort of guy. And I was the one that, well,

463
00:21:30,640 --> 00:21:34,000
Speaker 4: I'll do anything. Then what do we need? Okay, I'll

464
00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:36,000
Speaker 4: get on it. And yeah, yeah, it's the jack of

465
00:21:36,040 --> 00:21:38,520
Speaker 4: all trades, master of none, isn't it. But I'd get

466
00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:40,320
Speaker 4: on it and just have a go. So I'd set

467
00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:43,000
Speaker 4: up the shops, run the shops, did put all the

468
00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:45,640
Speaker 4: systems in and the customer service and stuff like that.

469
00:21:45,720 --> 00:21:49,639
Speaker 4: So each one of us had that skill. So, you know,

470
00:21:49,640 --> 00:21:51,880
Speaker 4: if I was starting on my own, if I didn't

471
00:21:51,880 --> 00:21:54,159
Speaker 4: want other shareholders on it, but I'd still have a

472
00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:56,760
Speaker 4: really good team around me, and I would choose people

473
00:21:56,840 --> 00:22:00,159
Speaker 4: with the skills that I don't have, or with the

474
00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:03,360
Speaker 4: skills that aren't as strong as they could be, and

475
00:22:03,520 --> 00:22:06,639
Speaker 4: find people with that strength because what you need is

476
00:22:07,119 --> 00:22:08,880
Speaker 4: strong team.

477
00:22:08,440 --> 00:22:10,119
Speaker 2: You really do. And I think when a lot of

478
00:22:10,119 --> 00:22:13,879
Speaker 2: people start a business and they're by themselves, you can

479
00:22:13,960 --> 00:22:16,760
Speaker 2: kind of get in your own way because you think,

480
00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:19,199
Speaker 2: you know, I'll do it. It's fine, you know, And

481
00:22:19,240 --> 00:22:21,320
Speaker 2: you can almost get in your own way of growing

482
00:22:21,359 --> 00:22:25,480
Speaker 2: that business because maybe you're not as great as someone

483
00:22:25,560 --> 00:22:27,720
Speaker 2: else when it comes to something like graphics, let's say,

484
00:22:27,760 --> 00:22:29,680
Speaker 2: for example, or whatever it may be. So I think

485
00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:32,520
Speaker 2: it is really important to get the right people on

486
00:22:32,560 --> 00:22:35,040
Speaker 2: your team because it will help the business grow. And

487
00:22:35,040 --> 00:22:35,560
Speaker 2: then you've.

488
00:22:35,400 --> 00:22:39,280
Speaker 4: Got someone to talk to. It's very lonely starting a business,

489
00:22:39,320 --> 00:22:42,080
Speaker 4: isn't it. Yeah, And you've probably found that you're trying

490
00:22:42,080 --> 00:22:46,000
Speaker 4: to do everything yourself and you've got nobody there sort

491
00:22:46,040 --> 00:22:48,879
Speaker 4: of holding your hands and giving you And sometimes you

492
00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:50,960
Speaker 4: just need somebody to challenge what you're doing as well.

493
00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:53,239
Speaker 4: And have you thought about doing it like this and

494
00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:56,040
Speaker 4: you can't because you're too close up to it and somebody,

495
00:22:56,320 --> 00:22:58,560
Speaker 4: you know, you've got someone else standing a little bit apart,

496
00:22:58,640 --> 00:23:01,280
Speaker 4: can see the wood for the tree, whereas you're in

497
00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:04,359
Speaker 4: it and you're trying to think of absolutely three sixty

498
00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:05,680
Speaker 4: everything that's going on.

499
00:23:05,760 --> 00:23:07,960
Speaker 2: You've got to get out of your own way in

500
00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:08,960
Speaker 2: a way you really.

501
00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:11,200
Speaker 4: Do have to. Yeah, that's a good way of putting it.

502
00:23:11,320 --> 00:23:13,000
Speaker 2: Yeah, get out of your own way, Get out of

503
00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:15,280
Speaker 2: the way of your business, Get out of the way me.

504
00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:20,479
Speaker 2: So Lush has done so many things over the years.

505
00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:23,360
Speaker 2: I was on your website and I was really inspired

506
00:23:23,400 --> 00:23:25,600
Speaker 2: by a part on your website where you had the

507
00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:29,199
Speaker 2: timeline of everything that you've done and it started at

508
00:23:29,280 --> 00:23:31,240
Speaker 2: nineteen ninety five, and there were so many moments I

509
00:23:31,240 --> 00:23:34,560
Speaker 2: was like, I need to take inspiration from that, such

510
00:23:34,600 --> 00:23:37,600
Speaker 2: as you know, stepping away from social media. You've closed

511
00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:41,840
Speaker 2: stores in solidarity with many causes. People would call these

512
00:23:41,960 --> 00:23:45,640
Speaker 2: risks in business. And my question to you is how

513
00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:48,920
Speaker 2: do you decide when to take those risks and how

514
00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:52,760
Speaker 2: do you learn to deal with potential backlash? Oh?

515
00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:56,360
Speaker 4: Well, backlash everybody. There's always someone, isn't there. People will

516
00:23:56,359 --> 00:23:58,440
Speaker 4: walk past the store and gain it says, smelly, I'm

517
00:23:58,480 --> 00:24:01,760
Speaker 4: not going in there. Yeah, sorr, ten other people will

518
00:24:01,760 --> 00:24:05,560
Speaker 4: come in. You've got to if you've got your passion,

519
00:24:05,680 --> 00:24:09,360
Speaker 4: then you you know this is how you want it.

520
00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:12,679
Speaker 4: If you can let other people shape you, or you

521
00:24:12,680 --> 00:24:15,439
Speaker 4: can have your passion and you can move forward. So

522
00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:19,119
Speaker 4: we don't, you know, with the shutting the shops. It

523
00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:22,560
Speaker 4: was a big decision to make, but we felt like

524
00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:25,880
Speaker 4: all our staff were asking us to do something. Yep.

525
00:24:26,119 --> 00:24:29,159
Speaker 4: It was like, you know, the starvation is it's not

526
00:24:29,280 --> 00:24:32,480
Speaker 4: about who's right, who's wrong, It's not about the wall.

527
00:24:32,600 --> 00:24:36,640
Speaker 4: It was about starving innocent people, which is what is happening.

528
00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:39,879
Speaker 4: So it was like, well, we have to say something,

529
00:24:39,920 --> 00:24:42,320
Speaker 4: we have to do something, and the strongest thing we

530
00:24:42,359 --> 00:24:45,760
Speaker 4: could think of was to shut the stores. And it's

531
00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:47,840
Speaker 4: also about protection for your staff because, as you say,

532
00:24:47,840 --> 00:24:51,040
Speaker 4: you get backlashed. So if we didn't shut the stores

533
00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:53,159
Speaker 4: and we just put the message in the window, we

534
00:24:53,280 --> 00:24:56,000
Speaker 4: might have had people coming in and saying, yeah, what

535
00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:59,359
Speaker 4: are you doing? You don't like these and the people

536
00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:02,640
Speaker 4: in the store like, I don't know, done from head off.

537
00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:05,840
Speaker 2: Yeah, you don't want them to feel a certain way either.

538
00:25:06,040 --> 00:25:08,000
Speaker 4: You have to be aware of that and make sure

539
00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:09,639
Speaker 4: everybody feels safe and comfortable.

540
00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:13,399
Speaker 2: I think it's really inspiring that Lush is open with

541
00:25:13,800 --> 00:25:16,159
Speaker 2: you know, all of your beliefs, and I think it

542
00:25:16,280 --> 00:25:18,280
Speaker 2: really shows that you back who you are as a

543
00:25:18,280 --> 00:25:20,520
Speaker 2: brand in a business and what you stand for in

544
00:25:20,560 --> 00:25:23,719
Speaker 2: a world where people are too afraid to speak up

545
00:25:23,720 --> 00:25:26,080
Speaker 2: on anything because they feel like, you know, there's always

546
00:25:26,119 --> 00:25:28,360
Speaker 2: going to be someone that's going to say something about it.

547
00:25:28,560 --> 00:25:31,560
Speaker 2: But I really admire Lush for just being vocal about

548
00:25:31,560 --> 00:25:32,960
Speaker 2: who they are and what they stand for.

549
00:25:32,960 --> 00:25:35,919
Speaker 4: Well, you can get swayed, can't you. I mean, for instance,

550
00:25:35,920 --> 00:25:38,919
Speaker 4: we've got we do what we call keystone species. So

551
00:25:38,960 --> 00:25:41,680
Speaker 4: it's really important that if you lose a keystone species

552
00:25:42,040 --> 00:25:44,840
Speaker 4: like a bee or a shark. You know, if you

553
00:25:44,880 --> 00:25:47,440
Speaker 4: lose the sharks out the sea, the ocean starts to die,

554
00:25:48,320 --> 00:25:51,320
Speaker 4: because it's really important. The job that they do and

555
00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:54,719
Speaker 4: bees are the same. We're doing one to build a

556
00:25:54,720 --> 00:25:59,680
Speaker 4: wildlife corridor in the Cameroon between so yeah, as humans,

557
00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:03,159
Speaker 4: we're destructive. So we've taken all the forest bits in

558
00:26:03,240 --> 00:26:06,600
Speaker 4: between two different bits, so all the animals living up

559
00:26:06,640 --> 00:26:08,239
Speaker 4: here and all the animals living down here are never

560
00:26:08,320 --> 00:26:11,240
Speaker 4: going to meet. Well, that's going to become really incestuous,

561
00:26:11,280 --> 00:26:14,920
Speaker 4: and then they're going to start dying out really because

562
00:26:15,560 --> 00:26:19,639
Speaker 4: so we're raising money now to make a corridor. I

563
00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:21,200
Speaker 4: mean we're not going to do it obviously, but we're

564
00:26:21,240 --> 00:26:24,040
Speaker 4: supporting people who are. So we're buying enough land to

565
00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:26,320
Speaker 4: build a corridor, so the animals actually can travel to

566
00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:29,280
Speaker 4: and fro as they would have done before humans natural

567
00:26:29,440 --> 00:26:32,439
Speaker 4: they're going to strip the land. So we've made a

568
00:26:32,560 --> 00:26:35,880
Speaker 4: jelly in the shape of an elephant, so we're supporting

569
00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:40,560
Speaker 4: with an elephant the forest elephants, among other things. So

570
00:26:40,600 --> 00:26:43,159
Speaker 4: we've got this lovely head of an elephant, complete with

571
00:26:43,280 --> 00:26:47,960
Speaker 4: movable trunk, so he is funny because he's a beautiful

572
00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:50,960
Speaker 4: elephant and the trunk actually moves like an elephant can

573
00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:54,640
Speaker 4: move a trunk. Someone else was like, we can't do that.

574
00:26:54,640 --> 00:26:57,480
Speaker 4: That's really rude. I think that says more about you.

575
00:26:58,280 --> 00:27:03,439
Speaker 4: But it doesn't rude because the elephants trunk moved, so

576
00:27:04,640 --> 00:27:08,520
Speaker 4: that makes it funny. It makes it more realistic. It's

577
00:27:08,560 --> 00:27:10,679
Speaker 4: not done to be rude. It's done. This is an

578
00:27:10,720 --> 00:27:13,680
Speaker 4: elephant and it is what exactly what it is gonna

579
00:27:13,840 --> 00:27:16,080
Speaker 4: Kids are gonna love an elephant with a trunk, and

580
00:27:16,119 --> 00:27:20,639
Speaker 4: you do all that, But if you listen to that

581
00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:24,000
Speaker 4: one person, that would have stopped, and we'd have done

582
00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:26,080
Speaker 4: an elephant's head the static trunk, and it would just

583
00:27:26,119 --> 00:27:28,800
Speaker 4: have looked like an elephant's head with no fun element

584
00:27:28,840 --> 00:27:31,359
Speaker 4: to it. So you have to know, you have to

585
00:27:32,640 --> 00:27:35,240
Speaker 4: you have to be yourself and think back yourself. Yeah,

586
00:27:35,280 --> 00:27:36,480
Speaker 4: and it is I want that.

587
00:27:36,600 --> 00:27:39,520
Speaker 2: Do you think maybe not being on social media has

588
00:27:39,560 --> 00:27:42,200
Speaker 2: had a positive impact on the decisions that you make

589
00:27:42,240 --> 00:27:45,679
Speaker 2: as a business, given that there's not that like platform

590
00:27:45,760 --> 00:27:48,360
Speaker 2: there of opinions constantly being thrown your way.

591
00:27:48,480 --> 00:27:50,399
Speaker 4: Oh, we still have lots of opinion. I mean, I

592
00:27:50,440 --> 00:27:53,080
Speaker 4: bet we've got all. Yeah, we got fifteen thousand people

593
00:27:53,119 --> 00:27:55,119
Speaker 4: that work for us who all have an opinion. Yeah,

594
00:27:55,200 --> 00:27:56,800
Speaker 4: and they're never shy of like.

595
00:27:56,920 --> 00:28:01,000
Speaker 2: Fifteen thousand employees. I've got six and I'm tired.

596
00:28:01,320 --> 00:28:05,199
Speaker 4: Yeah. They're hard because you're looking at it. They're like

597
00:28:05,200 --> 00:28:06,919
Speaker 4: your children, aren't they you care about them.

598
00:28:07,160 --> 00:28:09,320
Speaker 2: Times I'm stressed, I'm going to think of you and go, well,

599
00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:11,879
Speaker 2: she's got fifteen thousand. I'm fine.

600
00:28:13,280 --> 00:28:16,760
Speaker 4: So I think that that's yeah, it's it's important.

601
00:28:16,960 --> 00:28:17,240
Speaker 2: Yeah.

602
00:28:18,320 --> 00:28:20,080
Speaker 4: If you believe in something, carry on with it.

603
00:28:20,240 --> 00:28:20,440
Speaker 1: Yeah.

604
00:28:20,440 --> 00:28:22,320
Speaker 4: And that's why when we do our campaigning, where we

605
00:28:22,359 --> 00:28:26,080
Speaker 4: do our activism, they're not on things that people would

606
00:28:26,359 --> 00:28:28,679
Speaker 4: sort of automatically think that that's what you would be

607
00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:31,800
Speaker 4: campaigning on. It's not the usual, you know, it's the

608
00:28:31,800 --> 00:28:35,000
Speaker 4: more unusual things and things that we think actually a

609
00:28:35,119 --> 00:28:37,760
Speaker 4: light should be shine on this because this is going

610
00:28:37,800 --> 00:28:40,520
Speaker 4: on and they're trying to get away with something so

611
00:28:41,040 --> 00:28:43,200
Speaker 4: and we don't go, oh, they're wrong, look at this,

612
00:28:43,320 --> 00:28:45,880
Speaker 4: everyone attack. It's sort of like this is going on

613
00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:49,720
Speaker 4: just in case you're interested, as it is, it's all

614
00:28:49,760 --> 00:28:51,040
Speaker 4: about awareness and education.

615
00:28:51,800 --> 00:28:54,560
Speaker 3: Hello producer exit jumping in Hello. I have to say,

616
00:28:54,560 --> 00:28:57,600
Speaker 3: as someone who's in the queer community, the work that

617
00:28:57,640 --> 00:29:01,280
Speaker 3: you guys have done in particular for that side of

618
00:29:01,280 --> 00:29:05,040
Speaker 3: things is really admirable. And for someone like me where

619
00:29:05,120 --> 00:29:11,200
Speaker 3: I see a lot of businesses nowadays boycotting causes taking

620
00:29:11,200 --> 00:29:14,479
Speaker 3: away their advocacy, I think what you're doing is so

621
00:29:14,560 --> 00:29:18,840
Speaker 3: important and it's really setting an example. What legacy do

622
00:29:18,920 --> 00:29:22,120
Speaker 3: you hope Lush will leave behind by doing these things?

623
00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:25,320
Speaker 4: Well, for us, it's sort of like all are welcome,

624
00:29:25,360 --> 00:29:28,480
Speaker 4: always so, and that's the most important thing, isn't it.

625
00:29:28,520 --> 00:29:31,240
Speaker 4: I mean we always have this joke with John Lewis

626
00:29:31,320 --> 00:29:33,640
Speaker 4: is a very posh department store in the UK and

627
00:29:33,680 --> 00:29:39,520
Speaker 4: Marks Suspenser's so fairly both of them, and the joke

628
00:29:39,600 --> 00:29:42,760
Speaker 4: at a big meeting was that they only employ certain people,

629
00:29:42,800 --> 00:29:45,520
Speaker 4: only employ certain people, and we have all the rest,

630
00:29:46,320 --> 00:29:48,920
Speaker 4: and you know what, all the rest are the best

631
00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:51,560
Speaker 4: people to work with. They're the ones that got passion,

632
00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:56,120
Speaker 4: they've got there's differences, so we all learn from each other.

633
00:29:57,000 --> 00:29:59,200
Speaker 4: So it is and that's what it's all about, is it.

634
00:29:59,200 --> 00:30:01,600
Speaker 4: If you have everybody exactly the same, where's the fun

635
00:30:01,640 --> 00:30:05,400
Speaker 4: in that? Whereas when you've got a mixed community of

636
00:30:05,480 --> 00:30:10,000
Speaker 4: everything going on, you learn, you makes you more open,

637
00:30:10,640 --> 00:30:16,000
Speaker 4: you understand, and that is so much more rewarding.

638
00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:17,200
Speaker 2: Than everyone being the same.

639
00:30:17,360 --> 00:30:18,160
Speaker 4: Yeah.

640
00:30:18,560 --> 00:30:18,760
Speaker 2: Nice.

641
00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:19,040
Speaker 1: Yeah.

642
00:30:19,080 --> 00:30:21,320
Speaker 4: We were once described as looking like a Star Trek

643
00:30:21,360 --> 00:30:24,720
Speaker 4: convention and I think that's the biggest compliment we've ever had,

644
00:30:25,280 --> 00:30:26,840
Speaker 4: Thank you very much.

645
00:30:27,000 --> 00:30:31,120
Speaker 3: We had Jamilla Risby on the podcast, who's an incredible

646
00:30:31,320 --> 00:30:34,680
Speaker 3: activist for women in the workforce, and she said that

647
00:30:35,560 --> 00:30:38,920
Speaker 3: you need people from all different walks of life within

648
00:30:38,960 --> 00:30:41,800
Speaker 3: your business because that's how you're going to grow, and

649
00:30:41,840 --> 00:30:43,840
Speaker 3: that's how you're going to learn, and that's what's actually

650
00:30:43,840 --> 00:30:48,160
Speaker 3: going to like push growth as well. And it was

651
00:30:48,240 --> 00:30:51,400
Speaker 3: just such an interesting way to look at things. And

652
00:30:51,760 --> 00:30:54,960
Speaker 3: you see that these days in businesses.

653
00:30:54,800 --> 00:30:57,120
Speaker 4: Well, and we look for what we recognize, don't we.

654
00:30:57,200 --> 00:30:59,680
Speaker 4: So you know, if you walk past the shop with

655
00:31:00,640 --> 00:31:03,280
Speaker 4: and it's selling I don't know, but anything, and you

656
00:31:03,320 --> 00:31:06,320
Speaker 4: just think I can't see myself in there, so you

657
00:31:06,400 --> 00:31:08,080
Speaker 4: have to be able to see yourself in there.

658
00:31:08,120 --> 00:31:10,160
Speaker 2: That's why it is so important.

659
00:31:10,280 --> 00:31:14,040
Speaker 4: Yes, yeah, yeah, that was That's a simple thing to do,

660
00:31:14,200 --> 00:31:16,840
Speaker 4: but it's been so appreciated by so many because it's

661
00:31:16,840 --> 00:31:19,640
Speaker 4: sort of like, yeah, that's what we need. I mean,

662
00:31:19,840 --> 00:31:21,760
Speaker 4: the byeline that we have in Lush is to leave

663
00:31:21,920 --> 00:31:25,000
Speaker 4: the planet lussier then we found it. And that is

664
00:31:25,040 --> 00:31:27,800
Speaker 4: in all areas. So that's for animals, it's for the environment,

665
00:31:27,840 --> 00:31:30,920
Speaker 4: and it's for people. And so that's what we aim

666
00:31:31,160 --> 00:31:33,360
Speaker 4: to do is to just improve wherever we are. So

667
00:31:33,400 --> 00:31:36,600
Speaker 4: we have we have the Employment Benefit Trust, so that

668
00:31:36,680 --> 00:31:39,440
Speaker 4: means that everybody belongs to the company. They all own

669
00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:42,480
Speaker 4: a little bit every of it. If you've been there

670
00:31:42,480 --> 00:31:45,080
Speaker 4: for a year, yeah, so you become past.

671
00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:47,680
Speaker 2: Tell me more about what that is. I'm taking notes.

672
00:31:47,760 --> 00:31:47,960
Speaker 1: Yeah.

673
00:31:48,080 --> 00:31:51,560
Speaker 4: Well it doesn't I mean they're not getting money for it. Yeah,

674
00:31:51,600 --> 00:31:53,800
Speaker 4: but it will matter when it comes because you wouldn't

675
00:31:53,800 --> 00:31:55,560
Speaker 4: you'd have to do attached return and nobody wants to

676
00:31:55,600 --> 00:31:58,440
Speaker 4: do that for ten quick do they? So it's but

677
00:31:58,920 --> 00:32:03,400
Speaker 4: what will matter is should when the founders who have

678
00:32:03,480 --> 00:32:06,800
Speaker 4: no intention of selling their business, should they retire so

679
00:32:06,920 --> 00:32:09,480
Speaker 4: there's actually no intention of that either, I don't.

680
00:32:09,640 --> 00:32:12,880
Speaker 2: We're allowed to tell I've read, do you not? Is it?

681
00:32:13,160 --> 00:32:15,800
Speaker 2: You don't have like an exit strategy of any kind?

682
00:32:16,080 --> 00:32:19,040
Speaker 4: Do you do? No, we do, but we've based it.

683
00:32:19,160 --> 00:32:20,840
Speaker 4: And this is another thing I would say to anyone

684
00:32:20,880 --> 00:32:24,080
Speaker 4: starting a business is think about the exit, even though

685
00:32:24,120 --> 00:32:28,680
Speaker 4: you're not planning one, hopefully, but think about think about it,

686
00:32:29,080 --> 00:32:33,239
Speaker 4: and think about what especially if you've got shareholders. If

687
00:32:33,240 --> 00:32:35,760
Speaker 4: you haven't got shareholders, you're all right, because it's just me,

688
00:32:35,960 --> 00:32:40,240
Speaker 4: it's just you, you'll find But if you've got two,

689
00:32:40,600 --> 00:32:44,479
Speaker 4: three more, how does one of them get out? And

690
00:32:44,520 --> 00:32:47,560
Speaker 4: what effect is that on the business? And even though

691
00:32:47,600 --> 00:32:50,640
Speaker 4: you think you're very best friends now or your husband

692
00:32:50,680 --> 00:32:55,400
Speaker 4: and wife or whatever sisters, doesn't matter. Get the exit

693
00:32:55,440 --> 00:32:58,800
Speaker 4: strategy in place, because should one of you want to go,

694
00:32:59,400 --> 00:33:01,960
Speaker 4: they know how to get out yep, without causing to

695
00:33:02,040 --> 00:33:07,600
Speaker 4: disruption to the business. So for us, it is five

696
00:33:07,720 --> 00:33:12,040
Speaker 4: times the last three years profit or something. Okay, I'm

697
00:33:12,080 --> 00:33:13,800
Speaker 4: like because I don't know, because I don't know interest it,

698
00:33:13,840 --> 00:33:16,160
Speaker 4: but it's that sort of thing. So that would be

699
00:33:16,200 --> 00:33:18,600
Speaker 4: the cost. It means that the business can afford it

700
00:33:19,720 --> 00:33:22,800
Speaker 4: to buy me out. But it can also afford to

701
00:33:22,800 --> 00:33:26,440
Speaker 4: carry on. And that's the important thing, because all you

702
00:33:26,520 --> 00:33:28,520
Speaker 4: need is for somebody to go now, I want all

703
00:33:28,560 --> 00:33:31,280
Speaker 4: of this money, and it's like, but that's not really

704
00:33:31,280 --> 00:33:32,800
Speaker 4: And then you get into the argument, and then it

705
00:33:32,840 --> 00:33:35,120
Speaker 4: gets into lawyers, then it gets into expense and messy,

706
00:33:35,160 --> 00:33:37,640
Speaker 4: and then the relationship that might you might have been

707
00:33:37,640 --> 00:33:41,160
Speaker 4: able to part friends, you're not anymore. So even though

708
00:33:41,200 --> 00:33:44,040
Speaker 4: when you're starting you think, yeah, I'm just starting, I

709
00:33:44,040 --> 00:33:46,320
Speaker 4: don't need to think about the finishing. Put the finishing

710
00:33:46,360 --> 00:33:49,840
Speaker 4: in place so that you never have to worry about that.

711
00:33:50,720 --> 00:33:53,800
Speaker 4: When the founders leave the business, they take a lot

712
00:33:53,800 --> 00:33:56,280
Speaker 4: of the passion with them because they had the passion

713
00:33:56,360 --> 00:33:59,480
Speaker 4: to start that. And so you know, when we lost

714
00:33:59,480 --> 00:34:02,840
Speaker 4: Cosmetics to Go, it was Boor and somebody else started.

715
00:34:02,960 --> 00:34:05,560
Speaker 4: I think they made it run for a year. Yeah,

716
00:34:05,640 --> 00:34:09,720
Speaker 4: it lost everything that they loved about it well, because

717
00:34:09,760 --> 00:34:10,319
Speaker 4: they weren't us.

718
00:34:10,560 --> 00:34:12,880
Speaker 2: That was going to be one of my next questions

719
00:34:12,880 --> 00:34:16,319
Speaker 2: for you. You've been with Lush for thirty years. Now, how

720
00:34:16,320 --> 00:34:20,480
Speaker 2: do you keep that same excitement and creativity alive for

721
00:34:20,520 --> 00:34:22,680
Speaker 2: so long, especially when you're one of the founders. You know,

722
00:34:22,760 --> 00:34:25,520
Speaker 2: I've met people who maybe have been in their business

723
00:34:25,560 --> 00:34:27,719
Speaker 2: for fifteen years and they'll go, oh, Britt, you've got

724
00:34:27,760 --> 00:34:29,960
Speaker 2: to get out now before you get to my stage

725
00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:33,480
Speaker 2: where you know you're over it. But I look at

726
00:34:33,520 --> 00:34:35,760
Speaker 2: someone like you who's been in it for thirty years,

727
00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:38,000
Speaker 2: and you know what has been your rescue?

728
00:34:38,160 --> 00:34:42,280
Speaker 4: Keep it relevant? So you know you're with fashion, You've

729
00:34:42,320 --> 00:34:45,600
Speaker 4: got to make sure that you can change that because

730
00:34:45,640 --> 00:34:48,239
Speaker 4: people will wear a star then it changed. It might

731
00:34:48,280 --> 00:34:51,440
Speaker 4: even just be the length of a hem. You know,

732
00:34:51,480 --> 00:34:53,879
Speaker 4: it's no good if you say no, I'm always having

733
00:34:53,920 --> 00:34:55,680
Speaker 4: two inches of the floor and that's it. And when

734
00:34:55,719 --> 00:34:59,240
Speaker 4: that's no longer a fashion, it's like, oh what about

735
00:34:59,239 --> 00:35:02,480
Speaker 4: for yourself person not being in the business for you

736
00:35:02,560 --> 00:35:07,880
Speaker 4: get to travel? I really like that. Need to travel,

737
00:35:08,239 --> 00:35:10,400
Speaker 4: need to travel more. You need to travel for inspiration,

738
00:35:10,480 --> 00:35:11,400
Speaker 4: don't you? Yeah?

739
00:35:11,440 --> 00:35:13,239
Speaker 2: And yeah I do, actually, yeah, you.

740
00:35:13,320 --> 00:35:17,719
Speaker 4: Do book a flight and then you need to be

741
00:35:19,239 --> 00:35:21,560
Speaker 4: If you're working with people that you love, then that

742
00:35:21,719 --> 00:35:22,640
Speaker 4: is really helpful.

743
00:35:22,840 --> 00:35:23,439
Speaker 2: A great team.

744
00:35:23,600 --> 00:35:26,280
Speaker 4: Things change all the time, so there's always another challenge.

745
00:35:26,320 --> 00:35:28,359
Speaker 4: It's not like, oh, do you know what I've done it,

746
00:35:28,680 --> 00:35:33,160
Speaker 4: that's it. No, we're not in every country. We haven't

747
00:35:33,160 --> 00:35:36,880
Speaker 4: opened all shops that we could open. We haven't invented

748
00:35:36,920 --> 00:35:40,560
Speaker 4: every product we're ever going to invent. There's always something

749
00:35:40,600 --> 00:35:44,000
Speaker 4: else coming along, you know, and then you have a pandemic.

750
00:35:44,200 --> 00:35:46,719
Speaker 4: Oh hello, now what are we going to do? And

751
00:35:46,760 --> 00:35:49,080
Speaker 4: you've got all these people that rely on you for

752
00:35:49,160 --> 00:35:53,160
Speaker 4: their job. So you've got to keep inventing because you

753
00:35:53,200 --> 00:35:56,200
Speaker 4: want to keep them employed. You want to keep money

754
00:35:56,239 --> 00:35:58,200
Speaker 4: coming in, you want to keep it fresh for you,

755
00:35:58,560 --> 00:36:01,280
Speaker 4: you want to keep it exciting. You know, for anyone

756
00:36:01,320 --> 00:36:03,640
Speaker 4: that's let their business get to the point where they think.

757
00:36:03,960 --> 00:36:04,520
Speaker 2: I hate this.

758
00:36:04,880 --> 00:36:07,200
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, then well you haven't done it right mate,

759
00:36:08,320 --> 00:36:12,160
Speaker 4: you know, period, where's your passion? Sort of? It's about

760
00:36:12,520 --> 00:36:13,960
Speaker 4: doing it so that you love it. Yeah.

761
00:36:13,960 --> 00:36:16,120
Speaker 2: I do you think that's important for anyone starting a

762
00:36:16,160 --> 00:36:19,040
Speaker 2: business because I think now, especially because of social media,

763
00:36:19,120 --> 00:36:21,360
Speaker 2: it's become almost a trend for people to want to

764
00:36:21,360 --> 00:36:23,719
Speaker 2: start a business because on social media it looks so

765
00:36:23,840 --> 00:36:26,560
Speaker 2: cool and fun and easy and it's not.

766
00:36:26,880 --> 00:36:28,480
Speaker 4: But that's the thing that instead, I mean, you only

767
00:36:28,480 --> 00:36:29,840
Speaker 4: put the best bits to it, exactly.

768
00:36:29,920 --> 00:36:31,839
Speaker 2: And do you think it's important for people that are

769
00:36:31,880 --> 00:36:35,160
Speaker 2: maybe thinking of getting into business. It's really something that

770
00:36:35,200 --> 00:36:37,560
Speaker 2: you have to be passionate about to make it last.

771
00:36:37,719 --> 00:36:38,399
Speaker 2: The long run.

772
00:36:38,560 --> 00:36:40,879
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean I think a lot of people start

773
00:36:40,880 --> 00:36:42,680
Speaker 4: a business hoping that somebody's going to come and buy

774
00:36:42,719 --> 00:36:45,279
Speaker 4: it off them for huge amounts of money. Yeah.

775
00:36:45,360 --> 00:36:47,880
Speaker 2: Luck people ask me that too, They're like, what's your price?

776
00:36:47,960 --> 00:36:50,200
Speaker 2: And I'm like, what do you mean? Like, I'm still

777
00:36:50,280 --> 00:36:52,040
Speaker 2: just getting started with mine, but I'm eight years in.

778
00:36:52,440 --> 00:36:54,840
Speaker 2: I could never imagine just giving it away to someone else.

779
00:36:55,160 --> 00:36:57,680
Speaker 4: What you'd sell it? But yeah, you know you've got

780
00:36:57,719 --> 00:37:00,520
Speaker 4: to want a PARTI yeah, haven't you? Yeah? Yeah, I

781
00:37:01,360 --> 00:37:05,040
Speaker 4: think passion is everything. If I mean, you can try

782
00:37:05,080 --> 00:37:07,279
Speaker 4: starting a business that you don't really care about what

783
00:37:07,400 --> 00:37:11,279
Speaker 4: you think that, yeah, but then you're not going to

784
00:37:11,320 --> 00:37:12,799
Speaker 4: be in it for the long term. But if you

785
00:37:12,840 --> 00:37:15,919
Speaker 4: start something it's really passionate, it means something to you,

786
00:37:16,320 --> 00:37:19,719
Speaker 4: it's part of you, then you want to keep that going,

787
00:37:19,760 --> 00:37:21,319
Speaker 4: and you want to keep growing it, and you want

788
00:37:21,360 --> 00:37:22,520
Speaker 4: to still be a part of it.

789
00:37:23,080 --> 00:37:25,680
Speaker 2: I absolutely love that. I also equally agree with that

790
00:37:25,719 --> 00:37:28,719
Speaker 2: you've got to love it because it is hard work.

791
00:37:28,840 --> 00:37:31,759
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's not any hard work. There's a lot you get,

792
00:37:31,760 --> 00:37:35,360
Speaker 4: the sleeplessness, you get, the worry, you get, the stress. Yeah,

793
00:37:35,440 --> 00:37:37,760
Speaker 4: it's hard work.

794
00:37:42,760 --> 00:37:46,160
Speaker 1: Something's coming big business.

795
00:37:46,880 --> 00:37:50,600
Speaker 2: So Rowena, What is next for Lush? Can you share

796
00:37:50,640 --> 00:37:53,640
Speaker 2: anything with us, like any little inside scoop that no one.

797
00:37:53,600 --> 00:37:56,839
Speaker 4: Else knows anyone else, but you all know Christmas is coming,

798
00:37:56,880 --> 00:37:57,160
Speaker 4: don't you.

799
00:37:57,920 --> 00:38:00,319
Speaker 2: I feel like Lush is such a part of Chris,

800
00:38:00,320 --> 00:38:02,800
Speaker 2: Like whenever I'm going on Christmas shopping, like you always

801
00:38:02,800 --> 00:38:04,960
Speaker 2: just think, go to Lush, get the bath bombs, get

802
00:38:04,960 --> 00:38:06,759
Speaker 2: the soaps, get the body wash.

803
00:38:06,920 --> 00:38:08,360
Speaker 4: You know that was the correct thought.

804
00:38:08,719 --> 00:38:11,719
Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, I'd been rehearsing that one, just knowing you

805
00:38:11,719 --> 00:38:13,640
Speaker 2: would love it. And like the what is it?

806
00:38:13,640 --> 00:38:15,560
Speaker 4: The pink so fairy.

807
00:38:15,440 --> 00:38:18,960
Speaker 2: Yeah, like that's always out of fairy landed. Yeah, is

808
00:38:18,960 --> 00:38:19,920
Speaker 2: that always the best seller?

809
00:38:20,120 --> 00:38:20,359
Speaker 3: Yes?

810
00:38:20,480 --> 00:38:24,360
Speaker 4: Yeah, it smells so good cause Sticky Dates and Superlah

811
00:38:24,760 --> 00:38:26,960
Speaker 4: very much up there as well. And let the good

812
00:38:26,960 --> 00:38:30,920
Speaker 4: times roll. So all those pretty candy Sweet Sweet Yourmond

813
00:38:31,360 --> 00:38:34,920
Speaker 4: Sense are definitely in and they definitely borral. You can

814
00:38:34,920 --> 00:38:36,320
Speaker 4: buy those for any age.

815
00:38:36,760 --> 00:38:39,399
Speaker 2: So the Sush mid selling out there at one point. Yeah,

816
00:38:39,400 --> 00:38:40,399
Speaker 2: and like I couldn't get it.

817
00:38:40,640 --> 00:38:44,279
Speaker 4: No, Well, the thing when something goes viral, right, The

818
00:38:44,280 --> 00:38:47,399
Speaker 4: main fragrance element you've got in there is tonka. So

819
00:38:47,480 --> 00:38:50,600
Speaker 4: Tonka is a bean that grows in the Amazon and

820
00:38:50,760 --> 00:38:53,520
Speaker 4: you harvest it by picking the beans up when they've

821
00:38:53,560 --> 00:38:56,719
Speaker 4: dropped to the ground. So that's all well and good,

822
00:38:56,760 --> 00:39:00,720
Speaker 4: but when you're when you're buying so many and there's only.

823
00:39:00,560 --> 00:39:03,360
Speaker 2: So many beans, yes, you can just make them up.

824
00:39:03,560 --> 00:39:06,200
Speaker 4: Oil sort of runs out and it's like, whoa, We've

825
00:39:06,200 --> 00:39:08,759
Speaker 4: got to wait for the next halvest. Then, yeah, you

826
00:39:08,800 --> 00:39:12,239
Speaker 4: can run into issues like that. I can imagine exciting,

827
00:39:12,800 --> 00:39:15,239
Speaker 4: but yeah, that's what happens. So what's in store for

828
00:39:15,320 --> 00:39:18,600
Speaker 4: Lush for this Christmas? Well, there's lots of lovely things.

829
00:39:18,640 --> 00:39:22,680
Speaker 4: I mean, it's the attention to detail. I don't think

830
00:39:22,719 --> 00:39:26,719
Speaker 4: people always understand with us that it's, you know, we

831
00:39:26,760 --> 00:39:30,319
Speaker 4: are the product beyond the packaging. So but when we've

832
00:39:30,320 --> 00:39:32,520
Speaker 4: gone to come to gifts, the gift actually is part

833
00:39:32,560 --> 00:39:34,279
Speaker 4: of the packaging. So where am I going with that?

834
00:39:34,600 --> 00:39:37,600
Speaker 4: I was just thinking the other day that I think

835
00:39:37,640 --> 00:39:41,040
Speaker 4: how products are luxurious, but they don't look at because

836
00:39:41,040 --> 00:39:44,200
Speaker 4: they're in plain black pastic pots. They're in that for

837
00:39:44,239 --> 00:39:49,280
Speaker 4: a reason because they're cheaper. But that means we've got

838
00:39:49,360 --> 00:39:52,160
Speaker 4: more money to spend on the ingredients going inside. Yeah,

839
00:39:52,600 --> 00:39:55,439
Speaker 4: so in the cosmetic industry, most of the packaging costs

840
00:39:55,480 --> 00:39:57,920
Speaker 4: more than the product inside. It not that lush. The

841
00:39:58,120 --> 00:40:01,919
Speaker 4: product actually costs more than the packaging, and so that's

842
00:40:01,920 --> 00:40:04,480
Speaker 4: where the luxury is. It's luxury is in the ingredients

843
00:40:04,520 --> 00:40:07,040
Speaker 4: that we use, in the way that's been formulated, in

844
00:40:07,080 --> 00:40:09,080
Speaker 4: the level of preservative or the fact that there's no

845
00:40:09,160 --> 00:40:11,680
Speaker 4: preservative in there. So it's much better if your skin biome.

846
00:40:11,960 --> 00:40:14,719
Speaker 4: That's where the luxury is that it's going to actually

847
00:40:14,760 --> 00:40:17,919
Speaker 4: make a difference with a gift. You've got also got

848
00:40:17,920 --> 00:40:20,279
Speaker 4: the lovely the papers that are being made, and they're

849
00:40:20,320 --> 00:40:26,359
Speaker 4: made from recycled or waste materials, waste, cottons, waste, there's

850
00:40:26,360 --> 00:40:29,359
Speaker 4: no plastic in the ribbons. All the elements of that

851
00:40:29,400 --> 00:40:31,799
Speaker 4: have been thought about as well. So if you looked

852
00:40:31,840 --> 00:40:34,840
Speaker 4: at if you're concerned about the waste, there's something like

853
00:40:34,880 --> 00:40:37,200
Speaker 4: you can wrap the planet in paper for the amount

854
00:40:37,239 --> 00:40:40,400
Speaker 4: of paper that's used at Christmas, well that's quite shocking.

855
00:40:41,040 --> 00:40:43,719
Speaker 4: In which case user not wrap which is like a

856
00:40:43,719 --> 00:40:46,200
Speaker 4: big scarf and you wrap the gift in that and

857
00:40:46,239 --> 00:40:48,759
Speaker 4: you give that. That scarff can then be used to

858
00:40:48,880 --> 00:40:52,000
Speaker 4: rewrap another product to be gifted on. That just keeps

859
00:40:52,040 --> 00:40:54,799
Speaker 4: going and you never make a difference that so it's

860
00:40:54,840 --> 00:40:59,400
Speaker 4: all about thinking about gifting responsibly as well, and so

861
00:41:00,160 --> 00:41:02,239
Speaker 4: very keen on that because again, we want to leave

862
00:41:02,239 --> 00:41:04,400
Speaker 4: the planet lusser then we found it. It's about not

863
00:41:04,480 --> 00:41:06,760
Speaker 4: filling it with lots of waste. So we make beautiful

864
00:41:06,800 --> 00:41:09,960
Speaker 4: boxes that you can keep and refill afterwards. And so

865
00:41:10,040 --> 00:41:14,840
Speaker 4: it's about reusing things, but not in a boring, brown,

866
00:41:14,920 --> 00:41:18,920
Speaker 4: practical way, but making it a fun, colorful sort of

867
00:41:19,000 --> 00:41:22,640
Speaker 4: like I want to keep that sort of way. Yeah,

868
00:41:22,680 --> 00:41:26,040
Speaker 4: And so there are lots of exciting things in the store,

869
00:41:26,080 --> 00:41:27,919
Speaker 4: and then you've got the viral products, which of course

870
00:41:27,960 --> 00:41:30,480
Speaker 4: is great because then you can't go wrong, can you

871
00:41:30,520 --> 00:41:33,080
Speaker 4: If you buy somebody some sticky dates, because they'll be

872
00:41:33,120 --> 00:41:34,880
Speaker 4: excited because they love the smell, and they'll be excited

873
00:41:34,880 --> 00:41:37,080
Speaker 4: because it's virabl So I've got something exactly right.

874
00:41:37,520 --> 00:41:40,799
Speaker 2: Viral products. It's yeah, that's I feel like that's just

875
00:41:40,880 --> 00:41:43,200
Speaker 2: become such a thing in recent years, hasn't, And I

876
00:41:43,239 --> 00:41:44,920
Speaker 2: mean that's because of social media.

877
00:41:45,200 --> 00:41:45,560
Speaker 1: It is.

878
00:41:47,640 --> 00:41:50,279
Speaker 2: Still you're still benefiting from social media even though you're

879
00:41:50,280 --> 00:41:52,759
Speaker 2: not on it. People are selling out your products on

880
00:41:52,800 --> 00:41:54,160
Speaker 2: TikTok and you're not even on.

881
00:41:54,040 --> 00:41:59,480
Speaker 4: TikTok, I know, So we're not we're not knocking that bit. Yeah,

882
00:41:59,680 --> 00:42:02,600
Speaker 4: it's the whole. It's the other relevent social media that

883
00:42:02,680 --> 00:42:04,759
Speaker 4: we don't like. But would we say please don't put

884
00:42:04,800 --> 00:42:06,440
Speaker 4: us on social media? No, absolutely not.

885
00:42:06,480 --> 00:42:06,520
Speaker 1: Go.

886
00:42:06,680 --> 00:42:08,319
Speaker 2: I feel like you're the real winner here, Like you

887
00:42:08,320 --> 00:42:10,359
Speaker 2: don't have to make any videos or anything. I've had

888
00:42:10,400 --> 00:42:13,399
Speaker 2: here making six videos a day and people are making

889
00:42:13,480 --> 00:42:15,600
Speaker 2: videos of your product on TikTok making it viral and

890
00:42:15,600 --> 00:42:17,640
Speaker 2: you don't even have TikTok. You're the real winner.

891
00:42:18,080 --> 00:42:20,960
Speaker 4: Well, I mean you can get some deviral in one

892
00:42:21,000 --> 00:42:21,640
Speaker 4: of your outfits.

893
00:42:21,719 --> 00:42:26,520
Speaker 2: Yeah, maybe you. Yeah, you and the team and a

894
00:42:26,600 --> 00:42:29,239
Speaker 2: lot of your products are made right here in.

895
00:42:29,200 --> 00:42:33,160
Speaker 4: Sydney, right they are, well, everything that's sold in them Australia. Yes,

896
00:42:33,320 --> 00:42:36,880
Speaker 4: you're you're we're handmade here. We're on the Waraine Province.

897
00:42:36,960 --> 00:42:39,640
Speaker 2: And I think that's so special. I love how every

898
00:42:39,840 --> 00:42:42,640
Speaker 2: product comes with that little sticker of who made it

899
00:42:42,680 --> 00:42:43,800
Speaker 2: and we're real.

900
00:42:43,600 --> 00:42:45,440
Speaker 4: Faces people sort of. I mean we've brought around the

901
00:42:45,440 --> 00:42:49,920
Speaker 4: factory this morning and and they are Yeah, they're real

902
00:42:49,960 --> 00:42:51,879
Speaker 4: people that have a pride and that the whole point

903
00:42:51,920 --> 00:42:55,319
Speaker 4: of having their face is that did you make that

904
00:42:55,520 --> 00:42:57,319
Speaker 4: with all the love that you could have made it

905
00:42:57,400 --> 00:43:00,359
Speaker 4: and made it perfect? Yes? Are you very proud of Yes,

906
00:43:00,600 --> 00:43:03,680
Speaker 4: stick your face on it, and that's the whole ethos

907
00:43:03,960 --> 00:43:06,920
Speaker 4: behind that, and we'll use it. I mean, what is

908
00:43:06,960 --> 00:43:09,719
Speaker 4: so lovely is that we've got so many Australian ingredients

909
00:43:09,760 --> 00:43:12,279
Speaker 4: in there. There's a couple coming in from Tasmania, so

910
00:43:12,520 --> 00:43:15,080
Speaker 4: like pink peppercorns that we use in the Lord of

911
00:43:15,160 --> 00:43:18,719
Speaker 4: Misrule bath bomb, and we're the sandal wood as well

912
00:43:18,719 --> 00:43:22,040
Speaker 4: from And it's so nice to find local ingredients and

913
00:43:22,080 --> 00:43:27,480
Speaker 4: support local companies and local indigenous people. So that's what

914
00:43:27,520 --> 00:43:30,720
Speaker 4: we're after is making it as local as possible, making

915
00:43:30,760 --> 00:43:33,759
Speaker 4: the products locally, giving money to the workforce. I mean,

916
00:43:33,800 --> 00:43:36,120
Speaker 4: people were worried about AI, aren't they, And it's sort

917
00:43:36,120 --> 00:43:38,040
Speaker 4: of like, oh is that going to take jobs? It's

918
00:43:38,080 --> 00:43:41,680
Speaker 4: sort of like AI is really useful, but don't let

919
00:43:41,719 --> 00:43:42,600
Speaker 4: it replace people.

920
00:43:42,840 --> 00:43:44,880
Speaker 2: No, I don't think it ever killed Charlie.

921
00:43:45,000 --> 00:43:46,799
Speaker 4: Oh no it can. There's an awful lot of jobs

922
00:43:46,800 --> 00:43:49,839
Speaker 4: where people are laying off people because they're using AI. Well,

923
00:43:49,880 --> 00:43:52,560
Speaker 4: not lush, but not if you're handmade exactly right. So

924
00:43:52,600 --> 00:43:55,720
Speaker 4: when you're fresh and handmade products and you're making it locally,

925
00:43:55,760 --> 00:43:57,040
Speaker 4: then we don't have to worry about that.

926
00:43:57,560 --> 00:43:59,640
Speaker 2: Yeah, you're amazing.

927
00:43:59,400 --> 00:44:00,719
Speaker 4: But I think one of the things I was talking

928
00:44:00,719 --> 00:44:03,160
Speaker 4: about this morning was how lovely would it be to

929
00:44:03,320 --> 00:44:05,840
Speaker 4: put little signage in the shops of all the ingredients

930
00:44:05,840 --> 00:44:08,160
Speaker 4: that were from Australia, because I don't think people realize

931
00:44:08,480 --> 00:44:08,960
Speaker 4: what we make.

932
00:44:09,200 --> 00:44:10,720
Speaker 2: I see it and go, that's pretty.

933
00:44:11,080 --> 00:44:13,800
Speaker 4: That's not. Everything's got eucalyptus in it, which is probably

934
00:44:13,840 --> 00:44:17,200
Speaker 4: what you would think ecalyptus that would come from Australia. Yeah,

935
00:44:17,520 --> 00:44:19,200
Speaker 4: has it got any wool? No, we haven't got any wool.

936
00:44:19,400 --> 00:44:22,280
Speaker 4: So it's you know, it's nice to sort of see

937
00:44:22,719 --> 00:44:25,560
Speaker 4: where your honey's coming from. That's a local honey obviously,

938
00:44:25,560 --> 00:44:28,040
Speaker 4: because we can't import in. And then you've just got

939
00:44:28,400 --> 00:44:30,799
Speaker 4: it your sand wood, and you know that when you

940
00:44:30,880 --> 00:44:33,480
Speaker 4: buy a product, it's I always think of our products

941
00:44:33,480 --> 00:44:35,640
Speaker 4: as being like an iceberg. So you can see the

942
00:44:35,680 --> 00:44:37,799
Speaker 4: shops and you can see the product at the top,

943
00:44:38,160 --> 00:44:41,080
Speaker 4: and then underneath is all the lovely things. That's where

944
00:44:41,080 --> 00:44:43,000
Speaker 4: does it come from? How has it grown? Who have

945
00:44:43,080 --> 00:44:45,160
Speaker 4: we supported when we've brought from it? Who are you

946
00:44:45,239 --> 00:44:47,680
Speaker 4: supporting when you buy that product? Because the money goes

947
00:44:47,719 --> 00:44:49,880
Speaker 4: down because we have to buy more raw material. So

948
00:44:49,920 --> 00:44:54,920
Speaker 4: there's all these lovely journey that your products take for

949
00:44:55,040 --> 00:44:58,520
Speaker 4: you to then take them home and enjoy them. That's great.

950
00:44:58,560 --> 00:45:01,200
Speaker 2: There's so much to it. Just like yeah, this smells good,

951
00:45:01,200 --> 00:45:01,719
Speaker 2: I'll get it.

952
00:45:02,560 --> 00:45:04,960
Speaker 4: I mean there's that as well. Yeah, but then you know,

953
00:45:05,120 --> 00:45:07,319
Speaker 4: but then you can do much more. You can go

954
00:45:07,400 --> 00:45:10,120
Speaker 4: beyond that. And that's that's why I would always say,

955
00:45:10,160 --> 00:45:13,000
Speaker 4: if you're coming into a lush shot, yeah, you can

956
00:45:13,200 --> 00:45:16,239
Speaker 4: just dash in and out, that's absolutely fine, but come

957
00:45:16,280 --> 00:45:17,719
Speaker 4: in and speak to somebody and let them tell you

958
00:45:17,800 --> 00:45:20,720
Speaker 4: a story about an ingredient or how to use something,

959
00:45:20,840 --> 00:45:23,680
Speaker 4: or give you an armed massage or show you what

960
00:45:23,760 --> 00:45:29,960
Speaker 4: a bubble bar I'm going to be. Yeah. Yeah, it's exciting,

961
00:45:30,360 --> 00:45:33,320
Speaker 4: and there's there's so much more to it. The whole

962
00:45:33,400 --> 00:45:35,880
Speaker 4: theater is what we're all about. It's come in and

963
00:45:35,880 --> 00:45:39,600
Speaker 4: have an experience with us, you know, coming don't rush

964
00:45:39,640 --> 00:45:41,879
Speaker 4: in if you have to, but come back another time

965
00:45:41,960 --> 00:45:46,799
Speaker 4: and spend time with us and understand what we're doing.

966
00:45:46,600 --> 00:45:47,720
Speaker 3: Come and ask why.

967
00:45:47,560 --> 00:45:48,120
Speaker 4: We're doing it.

968
00:45:49,280 --> 00:45:50,080
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's theater.

969
00:45:50,280 --> 00:45:52,880
Speaker 4: Yeah, it is theater, and that's what it's all about,

970
00:45:52,920 --> 00:45:55,279
Speaker 4: isn't it. And we've got something really exciting coming out

971
00:45:55,280 --> 00:45:57,560
Speaker 4: next year as well. So yeah, and that involves a

972
00:45:57,680 --> 00:46:01,239
Speaker 4: soap with local sandal Wood or but that's all we're

973
00:46:01,280 --> 00:46:02,640
Speaker 4: going to say. And then you have to come in

974
00:46:02,719 --> 00:46:05,279
Speaker 4: to the shop and you have to come and get

975
00:46:05,320 --> 00:46:08,720
Speaker 4: that and see what you know, it's a local campaign,

976
00:46:08,800 --> 00:46:11,759
Speaker 4: it's a local it's something that's very important for Australian.

977
00:46:11,920 --> 00:46:13,439
Speaker 4: So yeah, you.

978
00:46:13,400 --> 00:46:16,960
Speaker 2: Inspire me to do more. Well, Rowena. To end every

979
00:46:17,040 --> 00:46:20,000
Speaker 2: Big Business episode, we always end with a tip of

980
00:46:20,040 --> 00:46:21,920
Speaker 2: the week. You've given us a lot of tips throughout

981
00:46:21,960 --> 00:46:24,319
Speaker 2: this episode already, but do you have a tip that

982
00:46:24,360 --> 00:46:26,640
Speaker 2: you can end the episode with. It can be business,

983
00:46:26,640 --> 00:46:28,359
Speaker 2: it can be life, it can be personal, it can

984
00:46:28,440 --> 00:46:29,000
Speaker 2: be anything.

985
00:46:30,880 --> 00:46:37,319
Speaker 4: Oh, I think it's like, be kind. Always find the

986
00:46:37,360 --> 00:46:40,120
Speaker 4: time to be kind and just because that will get

987
00:46:40,160 --> 00:46:43,440
Speaker 4: you much further because people will remember that and then

988
00:46:43,520 --> 00:46:47,600
Speaker 4: people will want to do different things with and it

989
00:46:47,640 --> 00:46:48,760
Speaker 4: doesn't cost anything.

990
00:46:48,800 --> 00:46:50,000
Speaker 2: It's free to be kind.

991
00:46:50,239 --> 00:46:53,280
Speaker 4: It is free. And even if you're tired and grumpy,

992
00:46:53,440 --> 00:46:57,440
Speaker 4: people don't understand that, still be kind with them. You

993
00:46:57,480 --> 00:47:01,360
Speaker 4: don't know what they're going through and just pass it on. Really,

994
00:47:01,800 --> 00:47:02,640
Speaker 4: that's a great tip.

995
00:47:02,960 --> 00:47:06,000
Speaker 2: Be kind everyone well, Rowena. At the end of every

996
00:47:06,000 --> 00:47:09,240
Speaker 2: Big Business episode, I also will say to guests, where

997
00:47:09,280 --> 00:47:11,680
Speaker 2: can we find you? But I just think I don't

998
00:47:11,719 --> 00:47:15,680
Speaker 2: need to ask you that question because you are Lush

999
00:47:15,120 --> 00:47:20,080
Speaker 2: and you are everywhere literally well not in every country

1000
00:47:20,120 --> 00:47:23,759
Speaker 2: like you said, but you're everywhere. Yeah, I think all

1001
00:47:23,760 --> 00:47:25,600
Speaker 2: of us need to go to Lush now after.

1002
00:47:25,440 --> 00:47:25,840
Speaker 1: We do it.

1003
00:47:26,160 --> 00:47:29,239
Speaker 4: When you go in breathtically because we have a lot

1004
00:47:29,280 --> 00:47:31,600
Speaker 4: of naked products so that the essentilws are all in

1005
00:47:31,640 --> 00:47:33,960
Speaker 4: the air and you'll get your free aromatherapy treatment on.

1006
00:47:34,080 --> 00:47:38,440
Speaker 2: There, you go and tell and tell the staff working

1007
00:47:38,480 --> 00:47:41,960
Speaker 2: the owner sent you in. People be like, what come

1008
00:47:42,000 --> 00:47:42,200
Speaker 2: in here?

1009
00:47:42,560 --> 00:47:43,520
Speaker 4: All these people take.

1010
00:47:45,400 --> 00:47:47,880
Speaker 2: Well, thank you so much. It's been amazed I should

1011
00:47:47,880 --> 00:47:51,040
Speaker 2: have you on. You are such an inspiration in business.

1012
00:47:50,760 --> 00:47:52,720
Speaker 4: And you too lovely to meet you.

1013
00:47:52,760 --> 00:47:55,480
Speaker 2: Thank you. Yeah, if I can amount to anything that

1014
00:47:55,560 --> 00:47:58,319
Speaker 2: Lush has achieved, then I'll be so happy because yeah,

1015
00:47:58,320 --> 00:48:00,960
Speaker 2: it's really inspiring. So thank you for coming known hour session.