1
00:00:04,960 --> 00:00:08,000
Speaker 1: From The Australian. Here's what's on the front. I'm Claire Harvey.

2
00:00:08,080 --> 00:00:15,600
Speaker 1: It's Tuesday, January thirteen, twenty twenty six. There's an almighty

3
00:00:15,640 --> 00:00:20,160
Speaker 1: cultural fight going on over one of Australia's oldest literary gatherings,

4
00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:24,840
Speaker 1: the Adelaide Writers' Festival. The overall Adelaide Festival Board, with

5
00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:29,640
Speaker 1: the backing of State Premier Peter Malanauskas, disinvited controversial anti

6
00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:34,760
Speaker 1: Zionist academic runner Abdelphatar, who's called for the destruction of Israel.

7
00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:39,600
Speaker 1: Abdelphatar's bumping prompted scores of writers to boycott the event

8
00:00:39,960 --> 00:00:44,519
Speaker 1: on free speech grounds. Now publisher Maury Schwartz is getting involved,

9
00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:49,360
Speaker 1: accusing the writer's festival's boss of deliberately provoking the fight.

10
00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:53,000
Speaker 1: At the Australian dot com Dot a you can read

11
00:00:53,120 --> 00:01:01,920
Speaker 1: all about that complicated. Staush Brands is a billion dollar

12
00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:06,720
Speaker 1: Australian cosmetics empire with legions of devoted fans thanks to

13
00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:10,760
Speaker 1: a genius loyalty scheme. Its founder Joe Horgan, one of

14
00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:15,480
Speaker 1: the country's most celebrated entrepreneurs, has a message of female empowerment,

15
00:01:15,959 --> 00:01:19,639
Speaker 1: but as Mecha destroys the old school department store model

16
00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:22,600
Speaker 1: of Australian beauty retailing. It has also had to deal

17
00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:26,920
Speaker 1: with women, its customers and its staff questioning what the

18
00:01:26,959 --> 00:01:31,039
Speaker 1: business is really all about. That's today's story.

19
00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:42,319
Speaker 2: Okay, I have the best hack ever for getting more

20
00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:44,360
Speaker 2: bang for your buck At Mecca.

21
00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:54,200
Speaker 1: Mecha sells makeup, perfume, shampoo, candles, and it also sells

22
00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:58,480
Speaker 1: a sense of belonging. The brand's slick, multi layer loyalty

23
00:01:58,520 --> 00:02:02,000
Speaker 1: scheme has turned thousands of women on social media into

24
00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:06,520
Speaker 1: super users. On TikTok and Instagram, they unbox and test

25
00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:10,440
Speaker 1: out their purchases, giving Mecha the kind of free publicity

26
00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:12,639
Speaker 1: other brands can only envy.

27
00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:16,680
Speaker 3: Hi, guys, it's Mecca beauty loop times.

28
00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:19,720
Speaker 2: So I like to save up my purchases from Mecca

29
00:02:19,919 --> 00:02:21,160
Speaker 2: for beauty loop time.

30
00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:24,519
Speaker 3: That way I can get my beauty loop. But I'm

31
00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:27,280
Speaker 3: not spending money just to get the beauty loop.

32
00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:32,240
Speaker 1: I was just meant to get my boxed lean. To

33
00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:35,799
Speaker 1: get into the beauty Loop, customers have to spend more

34
00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:39,120
Speaker 1: than three hundred dollars on makeup, skincare and fragrances in

35
00:02:39,160 --> 00:02:42,480
Speaker 1: a calendar year, and then keep spending to stay in

36
00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:46,240
Speaker 1: the program or move to higher tiers. In return, mech

37
00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:49,480
Speaker 1: out sends them gift boxes. And this is where the

38
00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:53,000
Speaker 1: risk arises. When you hand your marketing to an army

39
00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:58,160
Speaker 1: of empowered civilians with social media platforms, you better keep delivering.

40
00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:05,760
Speaker 3: Back again with another disappointed review of the Mecca beew loopbox.

41
00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:09,960
Speaker 3: This is the biggest failed beauty loop sexer here and

42
00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:13,840
Speaker 3: the context Mecca has released the world's worst advent calendar

43
00:03:13,880 --> 00:03:15,600
Speaker 3: again this year. It's coming to the point where I

44
00:03:15,639 --> 00:03:17,000
Speaker 3: think this is just one big inside joke.

45
00:03:17,080 --> 00:03:18,080
Speaker 4: Look at that setting screen.

46
00:03:18,560 --> 00:03:21,640
Speaker 1: There's an ultra secretive top layer where you have to

47
00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:25,040
Speaker 1: spend something like ten thousand dollars per annum to get in,

48
00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:29,240
Speaker 1: and in return, Mecha sends you gifts like candles.

49
00:03:30,280 --> 00:03:32,760
Speaker 5: I don't know whether be proud of myself or ashamed,

50
00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:36,640
Speaker 5: but I have been invited into this special club with

51
00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:40,800
Speaker 5: very small membership with the Mecca called Magic Circle, which

52
00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:43,400
Speaker 5: means we have our own concierge team, a bunch of

53
00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:45,600
Speaker 5: people who find things if we really need to find

54
00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:48,400
Speaker 5: things around the world that we're trying to find in

55
00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:50,200
Speaker 5: the makeup line and skincare line.

56
00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:51,840
Speaker 1: Because Mecca ever do sales.

57
00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:53,200
Speaker 3: I used to get us this all the time, when

58
00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:53,720
Speaker 3: I work there.

59
00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:56,760
Speaker 1: The answer is yes, once a year, Boxing day, but

60
00:03:56,800 --> 00:03:59,440
Speaker 1: that is their only sale they do amazing hotel.

61
00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:04,480
Speaker 3: Sorry, a sale category with nothing in it.

62
00:04:04,600 --> 00:04:10,800
Speaker 1: Your favorites will always be the same price. Angelicas Snowden

63
00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:13,520
Speaker 1: is a business journalist with The Australian, and she spoke

64
00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:18,839
Speaker 1: to the Front's Kristin Amyot, and you've been.

65
00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:22,159
Speaker 2: Reporting on the beauty retail chain Mecha this year. Tell

66
00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:22,960
Speaker 2: me do you shop there?

67
00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:26,960
Speaker 3: I used to shop there, however a number of years

68
00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:30,880
Speaker 3: ago I stopped, and I think the reason for that

69
00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:34,640
Speaker 3: is I'm not an avid makeup user, but I found

70
00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:38,120
Speaker 3: the convenience of it to be fantastic. It started from

71
00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:40,720
Speaker 3: me buying a mascara all the way up to shampoos

72
00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:43,919
Speaker 3: and conditioners, which ended up costing me a lot of cash,

73
00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:46,799
Speaker 3: and it kind of prompted me to look at myself

74
00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:49,039
Speaker 3: in the cold, hard light of day and go have said,

75
00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:50,880
Speaker 3: some other options out there, and I might want to

76
00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:55,840
Speaker 3: consider them. I have done a lot of dupe purchasing,

77
00:04:55,880 --> 00:04:58,839
Speaker 3: which I know is very unpopular in the makeup industry,

78
00:04:59,279 --> 00:05:03,120
Speaker 3: but cost of living is a real thing and I

79
00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:07,320
Speaker 3: feel that there are a lot of cheaper alternatives out there,

80
00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:10,560
Speaker 3: not to say that the products that Mecha stocks aren't

81
00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:13,800
Speaker 3: fabulous or very good quality. I think there is a

82
00:05:13,800 --> 00:05:15,320
Speaker 3: pretty good range out there as well, though.

83
00:05:15,480 --> 00:05:17,520
Speaker 2: And that's the thing about Mecha, isn't it. They don't

84
00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:20,640
Speaker 2: tend to go on sale or do a huge amount

85
00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:23,719
Speaker 2: of promotions outside of their membership program.

86
00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:28,520
Speaker 3: Exactly, and in my reporting that's been one of the

87
00:05:28,560 --> 00:05:35,000
Speaker 3: most consistent consumer concerns about the brand. I guess you're

88
00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:38,960
Speaker 3: already looking at products that have a high price point,

89
00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:42,200
Speaker 3: and that's because their luxury products. You walk into a

90
00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:44,240
Speaker 3: Mecha store and you can instantly see that the service

91
00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:50,360
Speaker 3: is fantastic and the products are also fantastic. Nonetheless, there's

92
00:05:50,360 --> 00:05:53,680
Speaker 3: a lot of online I think discussion about a lack

93
00:05:53,720 --> 00:05:57,040
Speaker 3: of sales, and further that sort of stems from a

94
00:05:57,120 --> 00:06:05,279
Speaker 3: lack of competition. I guess as well.

95
00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:11,240
Speaker 4: Only one percent of written history is about women. There's

96
00:06:11,279 --> 00:06:13,400
Speaker 4: a whole lot of stories to be told.

97
00:06:14,600 --> 00:06:18,240
Speaker 3: Joe Hoggan is by all accounts, one of the most

98
00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:23,599
Speaker 3: successful and effective business people in Australia.

99
00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:27,880
Speaker 4: Nearly thirty years ago, when I started Mecca, there was

100
00:06:27,880 --> 00:06:32,600
Speaker 4: a dream to allow people to experience beauty differently. Beauty

101
00:06:32,760 --> 00:06:36,279
Speaker 4: is not just about the products it's much more importantly

102
00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:39,919
Speaker 4: about how it makes you feel, how you get to

103
00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:41,160
Speaker 4: express yourself.

104
00:06:42,279 --> 00:06:45,320
Speaker 3: She started with one store about thirty years ago and

105
00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:49,000
Speaker 3: has grown this business into one of the most successful

106
00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:55,920
Speaker 3: retail businesses in Australia. And I think really interestingly she has,

107
00:06:56,440 --> 00:07:01,200
Speaker 3: you know, effectively taken from underneath David Jones maya big

108
00:07:01,240 --> 00:07:05,440
Speaker 3: department stores and offering that they had really hoped to

109
00:07:05,520 --> 00:07:09,080
Speaker 3: deliver to customers. But I think over the last ten

110
00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:14,080
Speaker 3: to fifteen years we've really seen Devia Jones Mayers not

111
00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:18,600
Speaker 3: be able to compete with mecha and physically. I think

112
00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:23,360
Speaker 3: her presence in Melbourne, in particular in Burke Street right

113
00:07:23,400 --> 00:07:26,240
Speaker 3: opposite David Jones, is a pretty good indication that she's

114
00:07:26,280 --> 00:07:26,880
Speaker 3: won that war.

115
00:07:27,680 --> 00:07:30,880
Speaker 4: Our purpose at Mecca from the very get go has

116
00:07:30,920 --> 00:07:35,480
Speaker 4: been to embolden through beauty. How do you make people look,

117
00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:38,440
Speaker 4: feel and most importantly be their best.

118
00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:43,480
Speaker 2: There have been persistent rumors that Joe Horgan is going

119
00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:46,920
Speaker 2: to leave Mecca, but she's indicated she's not going anywhere,

120
00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:49,400
Speaker 2: and in fact, she has suggested that she has plans

121
00:07:49,400 --> 00:07:53,160
Speaker 2: to take the company global, beyond Australia and New Zealand.

122
00:07:53,880 --> 00:07:55,800
Speaker 2: Have you been able to get to the bottom of

123
00:07:55,840 --> 00:07:58,120
Speaker 2: where those rumors are coming from and are there any

124
00:07:58,120 --> 00:07:58,720
Speaker 2: truth to them.

125
00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:04,880
Speaker 3: Joe Horgan emphatically denies that she is selling her business

126
00:08:05,560 --> 00:08:10,200
Speaker 3: and in fact insists that she is in this And

127
00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:13,360
Speaker 3: I've asked a number of times if they're planning on

128
00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:18,440
Speaker 3: floating the business on the ASX, considering it is so successful. Again,

129
00:08:18,480 --> 00:08:21,280
Speaker 3: they deny that and they want to stay private. The

130
00:08:21,320 --> 00:08:24,040
Speaker 3: only thing I can say about this is that Horgan

131
00:08:24,160 --> 00:08:29,040
Speaker 3: is ambitious. She has expressed interests in expanding the business globally,

132
00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:33,120
Speaker 3: and certainly I think over the next few years she'd

133
00:08:33,160 --> 00:08:34,440
Speaker 3: look at expanding those plans.

134
00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:39,840
Speaker 2: You reported that the company was late in filing its

135
00:08:39,880 --> 00:08:43,400
Speaker 2: financial documents over the past couple of years. It's now

136
00:08:43,480 --> 00:08:46,360
Speaker 2: done so on those records have revealed a revenue of

137
00:08:46,559 --> 00:08:51,720
Speaker 2: over a billion dollars. Did it face consequences for its lateness.

138
00:08:52,360 --> 00:08:55,400
Speaker 3: We're not sure yet. What I can say, though, is

139
00:08:55,440 --> 00:09:01,880
Speaker 3: that the corporate kop Asseic is investigating that practice. And

140
00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:04,440
Speaker 3: you know, I recently checked in with them to ask

141
00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:06,040
Speaker 3: if there was any updates that they could give me.

142
00:09:06,600 --> 00:09:10,880
Speaker 1: They said not yet, but and did get to have

143
00:09:10,920 --> 00:09:13,120
Speaker 1: a look at Mecca's financial records.

144
00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:20,560
Speaker 3: What they revealed is that this business is performing extremely well.

145
00:09:20,679 --> 00:09:25,080
Speaker 3: So before six months ago, all we knew about was

146
00:09:25,520 --> 00:09:30,000
Speaker 3: a company called Mecca Brands. Every year, albeit late, they

147
00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:33,040
Speaker 3: would report their results and perhaps they would report one

148
00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:35,400
Speaker 3: hundred and sixty eight million dollars in profit over the

149
00:09:35,480 --> 00:09:38,880
Speaker 3: last sort of ten years or so, which is good,

150
00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:43,800
Speaker 3: but considering the growth of this business, it probably is

151
00:09:43,840 --> 00:09:47,320
Speaker 3: a bit small. However, we realized there's actually a larger

152
00:09:47,360 --> 00:09:52,680
Speaker 3: company involved called RTCH and that has shown in the

153
00:09:52,720 --> 00:09:55,680
Speaker 3: same period of time, over about ten years, a nine

154
00:09:55,760 --> 00:10:00,120
Speaker 3: hundred million dollar profit. So that's a huge difference and

155
00:10:00,160 --> 00:10:03,439
Speaker 3: it explains a lot in terms of the growth, how

156
00:10:03,480 --> 00:10:06,480
Speaker 3: many more stores they're opening, how perhaps they're using the

157
00:10:06,600 --> 00:10:10,079
Speaker 3: cash that they're generating to invest back into the business

158
00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:11,959
Speaker 3: to keep funding more activities.

159
00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:22,120
Speaker 1: Over the past couple of years, Angelica has done a

160
00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:25,760
Speaker 1: series of stories on workplace dramas at Mecha that went viral,

161
00:10:26,280 --> 00:10:30,440
Speaker 1: allegations that Mecha's high performance, high pressure culture left some

162
00:10:30,679 --> 00:10:36,200
Speaker 1: staff shattered. Mecha's workforce is largely female, and these accusations

163
00:10:36,280 --> 00:10:40,520
Speaker 1: came from women. One executive launched action against the company

164
00:10:40,600 --> 00:10:43,600
Speaker 1: after being made redundant while she was on maternity leave.

165
00:10:44,040 --> 00:10:47,120
Speaker 1: Another said she was made redundant. Shortly after returning to

166
00:10:47,200 --> 00:10:51,080
Speaker 1: work post baby and X, staff told Angelica about a

167
00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:54,480
Speaker 1: workplace seminar that made them feel Mecher put its own

168
00:10:54,520 --> 00:10:59,080
Speaker 1: interests first. A lunchtime seminar about options for egg freezing.

169
00:11:00,160 --> 00:11:03,600
Speaker 1: Woman told Angelica it was all about having staff work longer.

170
00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:06,880
Speaker 1: Mecha said the seminar was way back in twenty seventeen

171
00:11:07,240 --> 00:11:10,760
Speaker 1: and was actually a response to staff requests for information

172
00:11:10,800 --> 00:11:14,160
Speaker 1: about fertility. Mecha also said it was proud of the

173
00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:18,000
Speaker 1: fact it asked employees to work hard, saying one of

174
00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:20,520
Speaker 1: its core values was whatever it takes.

175
00:11:23,080 --> 00:11:26,520
Speaker 2: Mechas faced a handful of legal actions from former employees,

176
00:11:26,559 --> 00:11:30,000
Speaker 2: both in the federal court and the Victorian Civil Administrative Tribunal.

177
00:11:30,480 --> 00:11:32,800
Speaker 2: What have you learned over the course of your reporting

178
00:11:32,880 --> 00:11:35,920
Speaker 2: about the workplace culture at Mecca as a result of

179
00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:37,040
Speaker 2: those legal proceedings.

180
00:11:38,800 --> 00:11:44,839
Speaker 3: I've learned, based on those legal proceedings that the workplace

181
00:11:44,840 --> 00:11:50,400
Speaker 3: culture is intense, it's high pressure, it's busy, as you

182
00:11:50,440 --> 00:11:53,160
Speaker 3: would probably expect with one of the most successful retail

183
00:11:53,320 --> 00:11:56,640
Speaker 3: businesses in the country. A number of the matters that

184
00:11:56,679 --> 00:12:01,320
Speaker 3: I had reported on had resulted in women signing a

185
00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:05,560
Speaker 3: non disclosure agreement Mecca's a private company. It's entitled to

186
00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:08,840
Speaker 3: ask its staff to sign these types of contracts. There's

187
00:12:08,840 --> 00:12:12,840
Speaker 3: no issues there. What it means, though, is that the

188
00:12:12,920 --> 00:12:19,199
Speaker 3: transparency around the culture inside this company is going to

189
00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:22,880
Speaker 3: remain without scrutiny beyond what I've been able to report

190
00:12:22,920 --> 00:12:23,360
Speaker 3: on so far.

191
00:12:26,440 --> 00:13:00,440
Speaker 1: Coming up Mecca's record on gender pay equity.

192
00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:48,720
Speaker 2: You reported earlier that Mecca has one of the biggest

193
00:12:48,760 --> 00:12:52,320
Speaker 2: gender pay gaps of any company in Australia. It's fifth

194
00:12:52,360 --> 00:12:54,880
Speaker 2: on the list I believe. Does that strike you as

195
00:12:54,880 --> 00:12:58,679
Speaker 2: odd given Mecca's customer base by and large is women,

196
00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:01,760
Speaker 2: A lot of the workforce is also women, and how

197
00:13:01,800 --> 00:13:06,679
Speaker 2: does that factor into this broader conversation about company culture. Yes,

198
00:13:06,840 --> 00:13:12,520
Speaker 2: it struck me as particularly interesting because Mecca is a

199
00:13:12,559 --> 00:13:18,160
Speaker 2: company that has always promoted women Outwardly says it is

200
00:13:18,200 --> 00:13:23,080
Speaker 2: a company that supports women not only in its sort

201
00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:26,400
Speaker 2: of the sale of its retail products, but in its

202
00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:32,000
Speaker 2: philanthropic efforts as well. So the values of this company

203
00:13:32,040 --> 00:13:37,080
Speaker 2: are all about female empowerment and equality. When I noted

204
00:13:37,280 --> 00:13:40,800
Speaker 2: the gender pay gap results, I just thought it was

205
00:13:41,240 --> 00:13:44,640
Speaker 2: interesting in terms of the public message that this is

206
00:13:44,679 --> 00:13:48,240
Speaker 2: a company that's about equality, but in practice. As with

207
00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:53,040
Speaker 2: many other companies, retail workers, who are dominated by women

208
00:13:53,360 --> 00:13:55,920
Speaker 2: in this company are the lowest paid of the company.

209
00:13:56,480 --> 00:14:00,800
Speaker 2: And in fact, at Mecca, a lot of their tech workers.

210
00:14:00,120 --> 00:14:02,599
Speaker 3: Are men and they're the ones who had paid the

211
00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:03,400
Speaker 3: big bucks.

212
00:14:03,920 --> 00:14:08,280
Speaker 2: And has Mecha's performance in that space improved over the

213
00:14:08,280 --> 00:14:10,240
Speaker 2: past couple of years and what do they say about

214
00:14:10,280 --> 00:14:13,920
Speaker 2: what they're doing to close that gender pay gap. Mecca

215
00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:17,520
Speaker 2: says that it has improved and that it's an active

216
00:14:17,880 --> 00:14:21,480
Speaker 2: area that they're working on. They say, we know we're

217
00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:24,400
Speaker 2: not perfect, but we're focusing on progress, which we've seen

218
00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:25,400
Speaker 2: in this year's results.

219
00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:30,040
Speaker 3: It was also interesting to note Sephora's results, which you

220
00:14:30,080 --> 00:14:34,200
Speaker 3: would probably say is Mecca's direct competitor in Australia and

221
00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:39,080
Speaker 3: they had a smaller gender pay gap than Mecca did.

222
00:14:46,680 --> 00:14:49,960
Speaker 1: Angelica Snowden is a business reporter with The Australian. You

223
00:14:49,960 --> 00:14:52,960
Speaker 1: can read her work anytime, plus all the nation's best

224
00:14:53,080 --> 00:14:56,360
Speaker 1: business news at the Australian dot com dot a U