Lush Cosmetics is a UK-based beauty retailer known for using fresh, vegetarian ingredients and being against animal testing. Their target market is millennials aged 18-34 who research products online and value environmental ethics. Lush uses social media to raise brand awareness and consumers perceive the brand positively as ethical, vibrant, and fun. Younger consumers are willing to pay Lush's higher prices due to the brand's ethical stance. Lush reduces consumers' perceived risks through knowledgeable staff, transparent ingredients labeling, and influencer marketing.

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1. Introduction
This report will cover a context analysis of Lush Cosmetics, an independent beauty
retailer founded in Poole, Dorset UK in 1995. Lush are known in the beauty market for
their strong stance against animal testing, and the use of all fresh and vegetarian
ingredients, ‘The brand is considered a trendsetter when it comes to natural beauty
products that are free from chemicals and toxins’ (Beauty Retailing, Mintel 2016).
Concluding this report will be marketing communications objectives, constructed to help
Lush face key issues internally and within the industry.
2. Customer Context
2.1 Segment Characteristics
- Smartphones are predominantly used for research purposes; 19% of consumers have
researched beauty products prior to purchasing in-store, rising to 27% of 16-24. Mintel’s
Social Media Report also found that 57% of adults aged 16+ view beauty content on
Facebook, and a further 43% view through blogs. (Social Media, Mintel 2015)
- Skincare products, including face and body, are the most purchased type of beauty
product due to the high purchasing levels among
women (76%).
- Ethical beauty and personal care shoppers are
most likely to take animal testing into account
when making a purchase (58%) (The Ethical
Consumer, Mintel 2015)
- Green features are secondary only to efficacy,
suitability, and a quality-price balance in
consumers (Passport, 2010)
This segment focuses on millennials aged 18-34
who are concerned about environmental issues
and consider this when purchasing beauty
products, however price is a deciding factor on
whether they purchase or not. 18-34 year olds
primarily use their smart phones and the Internet
in order to research new products as well as
taking inspiration from beauty blogs/vlogs and Facebook (Mintel, 2015). The image on
the right is the profile of a typical Lush consumer ‘Lily’.
2.2 Awareness
As many 18-34 year olds are active on the Internet, social media is a large platform used
by Lush to raise awareness of their products and company activity. ‘Lush Fresh
Handmade Cosmetics relies almost exclusively on word-of-mouth advertising via social
media to promote their products and social awareness campaigns–they do not partake
in any traditional media advertising’ (Waterloo, 2016). Lush currently have 165,000
followers on Twitter (2016), 310,000 on Instagram (2016) and 345,953 on the UK Lush
Facebook (2016) page as well as a further 1,130,053 (2016) followers on the ‘Lush
Cosmetics North America’ page. The sites mentioned above are only the ‘main’ Lush
sites; there are multiple social media sites for specific stores all over the world.
‘The prime target group for cosmetics are women, many of them young women who
cherish their pets. Reports about animal tests for their favourite cosmetics do not go
down well in this consumer segment’ (Passport, 2016). As the population is becoming
more aware of animal testing within the cosmetic industry, more consumers are looking
to purchase products that are cruelty free. Lush have a strong stance again animal
testing and state on their website, ‘We only buy raw materials, to make our fresh

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handmade products, from companies that test none of their raw materials or anything
else on animals now and have no plans to do so in the future’ (Lush, 2016). Therefore,
consumers will be able to trust that any products purchased from Lush have had no
association with animal testing.
2.3 Perception and Attitudes
Lush want their customers to interpret their business in the most positive light, regarding
their sustainable and environmentally friendly ethos: ‘Enjoy effective products produced
without exploitation of people or planet, safe in the knowledge that all ingredients are
vegetarian and that we do not test any of our products or ingredients on animals’ (Lush,
2016). Mintel created a graph in the 2014 Beauty retailing report, referencing consumer
perceptions of brand personality, this helps to visualise consumer perceptions of Lush in
comparison to other high-street retailers, Lush are perceived by customers as ‘Ethical’,
‘Vibrant’, ‘Fun’, and ‘Engaging’.
Foxall et al. (1998) states that ‘consumers pay attention to stimuli they deem relevant to
their needs, wants, beliefs and attitudes.’ As consumer attitudes are moving towards
ethical purchasing, brands such as Lush, who make their ethical beliefs very clear, are
being considered more. Lush has been voted the best high-street brand 2 years in a row
‘with an overall customer satisfaction score of 80 per cent and was described as ‘helpful’
and ‘friendly’ while its products were ‘excellent’’ (The Drum, 2015) proving their
popularity among high-street consumers. Lush also climbed ‘three places to claim the
top spot, pushing First Direct into second place and John Lewis down one position to
take third in the annual Customer Experience Excellence Top 100.’ (Marketing Week,
2015) Again, demonstrating that Lush is continuously striving to offer consumers the
best store experience possible.
2.4 Level of Involvement
The consumer level of involvement when purchasing Lush products would be
considered as limited problem solving (LPS), ‘having experience of a product means that
greater use can be made of internal, memory-based search routines’ (Fill, C. 2013).
When entering a Lush store ‘the bundling of smell, sound and sight is felicitous’ (Retail-
Week, 2016) as the products are all on show for consumers to sample and experience,
with hope that vising the store will be embedded in consumers’ minds. Lush products are
‘a much higher price’ than most other retailers, so there could be elements of high
involvement due to potential research being completed, however, the purchase being
made would overall suggest low involvement, as shampoo and skin care products are
bought regularly, rather than a one-off purchase.
2.5 Perceived Risk
Fill, C (2013) refers to five types of perceived risks that consumers may face when
purchasing products; performance, financial, physical, social, and ego:
Performance, relating to the function of the product, consumers want to know that the
product they are buying will work the way it says it will on the pot. They need to be
confident that the product they’re buying will satisfy their needs. Financial relates to the
price of the product, and if the consumer could buy the product elsewhere for a cheaper
price. This is a prominent risk for Lush as ‘two thirds of people who buy skincare, make-
up and shaving creams say competitive prices are an important factor when deciding
which retailer to use’ (Mintel, Beauty Report 2016), however, according to Passport 2016
‘generation Z consumers’ ‘flock to purchase Lush-branded bath bombs, face masks and
a host of organic hair and skin care products at a much higher price than
pharmacy/drugstore brands’. So regardless of the risk, consumers still seem willing to

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purchase. Physical risks relate to the consumer being physically harmed by a product.
This risk may be reduced as all Lush products state that they are not tested on animals,
list all ingredients on the packaging and have ‘a sticker describing which staff member
made’ the product, helping to build trust in the consumer’s mind.
Social risks relate to how consumers feel they will be perceive by their family and friends
for buying Lush products. ‘Zoella often posts ‘Lush haul’ videos on her YouTube
channel, reviewing and promoting Lush products. Zoella has almost 10 million
subscribers on YouTube and is a key influencer of teenagers in the UK’ (Passport,
2016). Furthermore, Mintel 2014 has reported that 43% of consumers view beauty
content online. By purchasing products that a popular Youtuber uses, consumers may
feel they’re keeping up with trends, especially if they’re friends are buying Lush products
as well. Ego risks refer to how the consumer will feel using Lush products. As noted in
heading 2.3, the target market is very conscious of buying cruelty free products. By
purchasing Lush products consumers may feel confident and happy that they’re making
an environmentally conscious decision, and that the product they’re buying can be
trusted. Fill (2013) concludes that, ‘by providing extensive and relevant information a
buyer’s risks can be reduced substantially’. Lush train their staff extensively to know
every ingredient in every product and how each product can benefit consumers in the
way it says it will, ‘we like all our shop staff to be able to talk about and recommend
products from personal experience, as well as product knowledge training’ (Lush, 2016).
Having knowledgeable staff will help to reduce the potential physical and performance
risk consumers may have. Lush also have a ‘Lushopedia’ on their website that provides
a full list of every ingredient used in each individual product, another factor that may
reduce the risk associated with consumers.
2.6 Decision-Making Unit (DMU) Characteristics
The below model is taken from Fill, C (2013) and demonstrates the consumer decision-
making process. As mentioned in subheading 2.4, the decision-making process for
consumers purchasing Lush products would be considered as limited problem solving.
The information search that would take place may consist of reseaching Lush product
reviews via vloggers and social media. The evaluation of alternative sources could
simply be walking around a variety of stores before purchasing. Fill, C goes on to explain
that; companies should ‘provide information about product modification’, if any
ingredients in any products change, comsumers need to be aware; to ‘highlight key
attributes known to be important to buyers’,
being ethically aware and environmentally
friendly, which is present in all LUSH
marketing communications; and ‘to
differenciate the product’, there are currently
no other retailers that offer the same shop
experience as Lush, they also hand make
all their own products, giving them a USP as
a brand.
3. Business Context
3.1 Corporate and Marketing Strategy
Lush make it clear on their website that they ‘do not waste money on excess packaging,
advertising,’ or ‘expensive marketing’ (Lush, 2016) so they will be unlikely to invest in
any large-scale marketing campaigns. However, in the ‘Lush Ltd Beauty and Personal
Care 2016’ Passport report, they state that Lush’s corporate direction will involve
opening ‘more stores extending their experience offerings, such as the Oxford Street

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flagship store, which opened in 2015 and offers an in-store spa. Lush will continue to
harness the power of its digital presence, whilst maintaining its identity as a go-to for
freshly-produced natural cosmetics’.
The most recent and talked about Lush marketing campaign was ‘The GoNaked
campaign’ that was ‘promoting not using plastic packaging for products, and body
positivity in women’ on their in-house magazine, however one advertisement was ‘taken
down from shop windows after complaints that it was "offensive" and "pornographic in
nature"’ (The Independent, 2015). In response to the complaints received, Lush made
the following statement: “The women in the images are members of the Lush team, who
felt strongly about this issue […] The image is completely untouched, as we feel that we
should not be ashamed of our bodies in their natural state”. As this was the most recent
advertising campaign from Lush, the assumption can be made that they will continue
with a marketing and corporate strategy to fit with the ethos of being a company that is
‘still proud to swim against the tide supporting groups and causes that it believes in, still
fighting against animal testing and working on preservative free cosmetics. The creativity
remains unfettered by industry trends or outside influences and thrives on passion,
innovation and the excitement of the next invention.’ (Lush, 2016)
3.2 Brand Analysis
Referring to Aaker’s (1997) Brand Personality Framework,
Lush would fall under the ‘Excitement personality’ when
considering consumer perception. However, it is impossible
to delegate Lush to one single ‘personality’ as the brand
covers multiple. Lush pride themselves on being a very
honest company, ‘We also believe words like fresh and
organic have honest meaning beyond marketing’ and
saying it ‘how it is’. Considering this trait and the idea that
Lush are working towards some very important
environmental and ethical milestones, the company would
fall under the ‘sincerity personality’. Yet, Lush still possess traits that would fall under the
‘competence personality’, such as ‘intelligent’ and ‘successful’. As a company, they have
invented their own products, created them all by hand and built an incredibly successful
brand that in 2015 owned a 36.6% share of the premium bath and shower market
(Passport, 2016). It is impossible to position Lush under one of the above headings
because as a brand, they have successfully created their own personality that cannot be
defined by Aaker’s model.
In 2014, Lush’s website and company logo was changed in order to ‘simplify
Lush’s visual language and focus on the stories behind its products, such as
how ingredients are sourced.’ (Creative Review, 2016) The previous logo
consisted of a yellow and green background for the Lush text to sit in front
of, written in the distinctive Lush text. The text was changed to Helvetica
and is now a much more minimal logo consisting of only black and white.
The agency, Method, who worked with Lush to rebrand their logo and
website explained the changes were made because they ‘wanted to pare it
back and give them [Lush] a canvas on which to grow. The core brand
language is still very present, but it’s a little more neutral and still gives Lush
flexibility to update it and experiment’ (Creative Review, 2016).
Another model by Fill, C (2013) refers to the following four generic ways in which brands
can improve their brand association; through the line, above the line, below the line and

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around the line. Lush use around the line brand building as "Lush has a 'no global
advertising' policy meaning ‘every piece of content that we put out does not have the
opportunity to have money put behind it," (WARC, 2016). Conventional media is used to
promote the brand as they ‘don't do any above-the-line or below-the-line advertising,"
"Everything we do has to be organic and has to come from a very authentic place." Lush
rely heavily on various media platforms and word-of-mouth to provide brand advertising,
which is, another factor used by around-the-line association.
3.3 Competitor Analysis
Company Recent activity
The Body Shop:
Founded in 1976
by the late British
environmental
and human rights
campaigner Dame
Anita Roddick,
The Body Shop
started life as a
small outfit in
Brighton selling
just 25 products
(The Guardian,
2011)
Jan 2014: ‘The revamp of The Body Shop’s stores to the new ‘Pulse Boutique’ concept
continues. The ‘Pulse’ in-store environment – which to our eyes mimics that of rival
Lush’s shops in some ways – makes for an exciting and interactive shopping experience’
(Mintel, 2014)
Dec 2014: ‘Launches a “blogger advent calendar” on social media sites in December 2014
featuring product reviews.’ (Mintel, 2015)
Feb 2016: ‘The Body Shop has publicly announced its renewed commitment to social
responsibility, recently publishing new targets under the thought-provoking banner: Enrich
Not exploit (Passport, 2016)’
Feb 2016: ‘The Body Shop is investing heavily in making every retail outlet eco-friendly by
using locally-sourced SSC-certified wood, sustainable materials in its flooring, LED lighting
and non-toxic paints’ (The Drum, 2016)
Nov 2016: ‘The Body Shop has launched a collection of 100% vegan cosmetics.’ (Mintel,
2016)
The Body Shop is still recovering from the backlash they have received since the
company was sold to L’Oreal in 2009. However, they are now focusing on their new
‘Enrich Not Exploit’ philosophy as they want ‘consumers to think 'I want this and I know
when I buy it no person, animal or plant has been exploited and I’m buying it from a
company doing a good thing”’ (The Drum, 2016). ‘The Body Shop has struggled to
engage with younger consumers, and suffered somewhat in consumer support after its
sale to L’Oréal. Lush has continued to keep young consumers interested with novel
products, and often provocative marketing campaigns.’ (Passport, 2016)
Origins:
Launched in
1990 by
Leonard
Lauder, son of
Estee, Origins
was the first
prestige
skincare brand
to focus on
using natural
ingredients in
its products
(The Guardian,
2011)
2009 – present:‘Origins also gives back by planting trees and has partnered with American
Forests since 2009. Each year, the brand engages consumers in their mission to help plant trees
in areas of need around the world. To date, Origins projects have led to over 600,000 trees —
and counting! — planted.’ (American Forests, 2016)
Oct 2015: Origins launch their ‘Skin Renewal Serum, which uses the marketing message of
fixing a “quarter life crisis”’. (Mintel. 2015)
Jan 2016: ‘Beauty brand Origins has announced that social influencer, health coach, cookery
writer and yoga instructor Madeleine Shaw has been named as it’s Glow Girl for 2016.’ (Fashion
Monitor, 2016)
Aug 2016: ‘This August, we are excited to announce that we have chosen Cambridge as the
location to open our first standalone store. To celebrate this milestone, we are looking for
students to be part of the Origins Glow Girl team to help spread the word by throwing parties and
representing Origins on campus.’ (Origins, 2016)
Nov 2016: Origins launch a new face mask collection (RitualiTea) made using a variety of teas.
The use of #PressPause is used to promote the new collection (Origins, 2016)

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Origins are beginning to focus more on the younger target market by looking for student
ambassadors ‘to be part of the Origins Glow Girl team’ and to help spread the word of
their products through ‘throwing parties and representing origins on campus’ (Origins,
2016). By focusing more on the target market Origins are becoming more of a main
competitor for Lush, as Passport 2016 go on to explain that ‘Lush’s new competition will
come from brands targeting the younger generation, with a focus on natural ingredients
and modern stand-alone retail stores’. Origins have also opened their first standalone
store in Cambridge that is likely to result in more stores opening across the country,
meaning another brand as well as The Body Shop will have a store that customers will
be able to experience.
4. Internal Context
4.1 Financial Constraints
‘In its accounts for the 12 months to 30 June 2014, the company recorded group
turnover of £282.5m, up from £280.2m the previous year’ (Insider Media, 2015), of the
£282.5m turnover recorded by Lush, £67.6m account for UK sales alone (Mintel, 2016).
‘Pre-tax profits also grew to £23.3m from £21.5m in 2013’ (Insider Media, 2015). The
Lush Cosmetics Director Report for June 2014 also shows ‘There was a profit for the
financial year after taxation amounting to £12,567,000 (2013: £10,546,000)’. Lush also
saw a ‘66% rise in online traffic and a 49% increase in like-for-like sales in the final three
months of the [2014] financial year’ ‘due to the launch of the fully responsive luch.co.uk
website in March’ (Mintel, 2016). Although sales worldwide are looking positive for Lush,
there was a decrease in sales in the Japanese market from £5.6 to £5.3 million. Mark
Constantine explained that ‘the shop staff were underpaid and demotivated, and there
had been no training on the underlying ethics and beliefs of the lush brand’ (The
Telegraph, 2015). Furthermore, it is essential that Lush communicate well with shops all
over the world in order to maintain business values so profits do not continue to decline.
Lush were also affected by ‘the currency fluctuations, such as the strengthening pound,
which created problems for many British exporters last year’ meaning exporting goods
was costing Lush more money – affecting profits.
4.2 Organisational Identity, Culture, Values and Beliefs
Hatch’s (1993) adaptation of Schein’s 1985 model of
organization culture best sums up Lush’s identity, vales, and
beliefs while creating a picture of Lush’s organizational
culture. Assumptions ‘represent taken-for-granted beliefs
about reality and human nature’ such as the living and
surviving on earth whilst being unaware that the human
population is causing a lot of damage to the planet. Almost
every policy Lush follow relate to environmental and ethical
issues and how to help solve them, such as their ‘ethical
buying policy’, ‘handmade policy’ and ‘air travel and carbon tax policy’ (Lush, 2016).
Values are ‘social principles, philosophies, goals and standards’ which in Lush’s case
relates to all their products being ‘handmade using only 100% fresh natural ethically-
sourced fruit, vegetable and essential oil ingredients’ (Mintel, 2016). Lush have a ‘WE
BELIEVE’ mission statement on their website relating to the company’s core
philosophies (Lush, 2016). Artifacts ‘are visible, tangible and audible results of activity
grounded in values and assumptions.’ All Lush products are made with assumptions and
values taken into consideration as all ingredients are fresh, handmade and all packaging

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used is 100% recycled. Lush also work with and contribute a lot to charity, ‘Lush
partners worldwide raised £5,141,000 and donated a total of £4,597,000 (2013:
£3,095,000) to charities and other good causes’ (Directors Report, 2014) Lush give all
charitable donations to a variety of causes including ‘frontline campaigns
for animals, human rights and the environment’ (Lush, 2016). Symbols ‘are defined ‘as
anything that represents a construct or an unconscious association with some wider,
meaning’. In regards to Lush, their main symbol is the ‘fresh handmade cosmetics’
slogan that promotes their assumptions and values by promoting to consumers that their
products are fresh, and handmade. Manifestation ‘contributes to the constitution or
organizational culture by translating intangible assumptions into recognizable values’
Lush have always been centered around ‘protecting people, animals and the planet’
(Lush, 2016), these ‘assumptions’ have been kept at the core of the company as they
continue to believe in ‘Strong Business Values and Ethics’. Realisation ‘to bring it into
being’. Lush incorporate their values into products as the company’s founders have
‘been conscious of how our products interact with the environment’ ‘Since Lush began’
(Lush, 2016). Symbolisation is much the same as the definition of a symbol in Hatch’s
context. It is relating to how Lush’s environmental values are shown in their logo and
slogan. As referred to in heading 3.2, Lush’s current logo is simple, to ‘focus on the
stories behind its products, such as how ingredients are sourced.’ (Creative Review,
2016). Interpretation ‘moves us back and forth between the already known (basic
assumptions), and the possibility of new understanding’. Interpretation refers to how
consumers view Lush and if they can understand Lush’s core values through their
products, logo and slogan, the Mintel 2014 graph (heading 2.3) concludes how
consumers view Lush as ‘ethical’ which is their main assumption and has been since the
beginning.
4.3 Marketing Expertise
In December 2014 Lush released ‘a video called The Experimenter, which features
dynamic snapshots of its products and ingredients in motion such as exploding bath
bombs and swirling liquids’ (Cosmetics Business, 2014). ‘Lush said that part of the
motivation came after seeing posts from their fans who had shared their bath art images
under the hashtag #lushtime.’ (Mav Social, 2014) The video was created ‘in
collaboration with production agency The Mill’ and was partly directed by Andy Russel,
Lush’s Head of Design and Lush’s Digital Managing Director Jack Constantine was the
executive director. Jack Constantine’s is now Lush’s Chief Digital Officer and leads in
‘delivering creative digital products and multi-channel campaigns for Lush globally
(LinkedIn, 2016). In February 2014, Lush ‘waged a three-year battle over Amazon's use
of the word "lush" to sell products that look just like Lush's but aren't. Amazon shoppers
searching for Lush products would instead be directed to similar products described as
"lush"’ (The Guardian, 2014). Amazon lost the High Court trademark case and Mark
Constantine, the Managing Director of Lush went on to trademark ‘the name
‘Christopher North’ – the managing director of Amazon.co.uk, and has created a special
product: the ‘rich, thick and full of it’ Christopher North shower smoothie’ (The Drum,
2014). Although the product has not been produced the creation of the ‘Christopher
North shower smoothie’ shows that marketing savvy is prominent within Lush, all the
way up to the co-founder and managing Director.
4.4 Agency Availability and Suitability
In 2013, Lush began a partnership with Method, a global design firm to transform
‘Lush.co.uk into an editorially-led, fully responsive e-commerce platform’ as well as
working on ‘the redesign of Lush Times, the Lush consumer magazine and catalogue’

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(Method, 2016) and introduced The Lush Kitchen. Acquia ‘provides the leading cloud
platform for building, delivering and optimising digital experiences’ and worked alongside
Lush and Method to give ‘Lush the flexibility to embed commerce into site content’ ‘to
reflect the spirit of Lush’s brand’ (Acquia, 2016). With two large agencies, Lush could
completely rebrand their website, in-house catalogue and magazine to aid them in
communicating their ethical business to a wider audience ‘who might see it [Lush] as just
a nice smelling soap shop’ (Creative Review, 2014).
The Mill, a well-known production company, who collaborated with Lush in 2014 to
create ‘The Experimenter’ had previous worked with PETA on their ‘98% human’ film in
2013 that became ‘the most awarded Mill project of all time, picking up 17 wins’ (The
Mill, 2016). The Mill work with various sectors but have a lot of experience working within
the beauty sector so their suitability to work with Lush was paramount.
5. External Context
5.1 Company Stakeholders
The following model is adapted from Freeman’s ‘The
“Rational” Stakeholder map’ (1984) and Mitchell’s
Identification and Salience model (1997) that focuses
on the stakeholder’s power to influence, the legitimacy
of the relationship and the urgency of any claim made
by the stakeholder (Friedman, A). Definitive
stakeholders are a high priority as they have
influence, legitimacy and urgency. Dominant
stakeholders have legitimacy and power, and
Dormant stakeholders have only power. Definitive
stakeholders such as suppliers have a large amount of influence
and power within Lush as they source products for all over the
world and some ingredients are specific to products. Lush are
proud to source products from all over the world, and work with
suppliers from the smallest farms across the globe, this is also why communication must
be strong. Dominant stakeholders work closely with Lush, which is why moderate
communication is needed, charities are especially important as Lush work with a variety
of causes through different campaigns and charities need Lush to help increase
awareness. Agencies have little communication as they are important to Lush but only
when they are needed, as they lack power. Dormant stakeholders all have power,
specifically Customer Advocate Groups such as bloggers and YouTubers. It has been
established that Lush’s target market are very influenced by beauty bloggers, and
negative associations from them towards Lush could seriously damage their reputation.
There is little communication between Lush and Dormant stakeholders apart from
consumers, as strong communication is made through social media platforms as well as
between employees and consumers when they enter Lush stores.
5.2 Communication Needs
To optimise communication with stakeholders, Lush need to keep updated with the
constant changing technology as their target market are very concerned with the internet
and all Lush marketing campaigns rely on consumers reacting to campigns via social
media. As all campaigns are promoted online, it has enabled Lush to communicate with
non-stakeholders as well. Employees will need to be provided with constant

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communication from Lush to enable them to offer the best servie to customers as well as
consumers. This communication may be made through staff meetings, training courses
of other methods. The decline in profits in the Japanese market highlights how important
communication between Lush and their employees is. Communication with suppliers
may vary due to their location, the internet may not be the most suitable option so more
tradional methods such a phone calls and letters may be needed as well as potential
face to face meetings with suppliers such as those from ‘inaccessible climbs of Northern
Laos; one of the poorest countries in South East’ (Lush, 2016).
5.3 PEST Analysis
Political Positive Implications Negative Implication
- Brexit may affect sourcing
ingredients from countries around
the world (Dataquarks.com 2016),
as well as affecting potential
worldwide sales due to the fall in
exchange rate and fall in the pound
(The Guardian, 2016).
- Ethical Buying – purchasing
ingredients from more UK
suppliers. Lush will be benefiting
local suppliers (CIPS.org),
positive CSR.
- Lush source ingredients worldwide, if the
pound falls, importing ingredients will
become more expensive, and this expense
will be passed through to the consumer.
Economic
- The overall UK economy forecast
is improving, with the lowest rates
of unemployment and consumption
at its highest (Focus-
Economics.com 2016)
- Brexit may affect workforces and
production across the UK as
Theresa May ‘repeated her line
that she "expects" to allow
Europeans to remain in the UK
(The Week, 2016)
- Disposable income has risen
to £1,463,455.95 in the UK
(Passport, 2016) meaning
consumers have more money
spare to spend.
- There are few positive
implications if 1,400 Lush
employees potentially lose their
jobs due to the referendum vote.
(Bournemouth Echo, 2016)
- There are little, if any, negative
implications toward LUSH so long as
consumers are earning and spending
more money.
- Mark Constantine wants to ‘move
production of goods for mainland Europe
from Poole to Germany’ (Bournemouth
Echo, 2016). This will result in multiple
redundancies for employees working at
the Lush factory in Poole.
Social
- British shoppers are three times
more likely to choose
environmentally friendly products
than they were in 2011, despite the
squeeze on their incomes (The
Guardian, 2014).
- Consumers may be more likely
to purchase Lush products due
to the increase in environmental
consciousness when buying.
- As environmental products start to
increase in sale, supermarkets have
realized and now have their own brand
cruelty free products that are a much
cheaper price.
Technological
- The amount of beauty vloggers
using platforms such as YouTube
is expanding with popular names
such as Zoella dominating the site
with over 10 million subscribers.
- ‘LUSH benefits from a strong
cult following amongst young
millennial consumers, who have
been introduced to the brand
particularly through online
exposure via blogs and
YouTube.’ (Passport, 2016)
- As a lot of ‘Young tween and teen
consumers are strong followers of the
brand’ calling themselves, ‘Lushies’
(Passport, 2016) due to the popularity of
beauty vloggers. If any Internet celebrity
decided they no longer support Lush, this
could affect their reputation.

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6. Key Issues
The importance of YouTubers and their influence. Currently, Lush are benefitting
from promotions via vloggers such as Zoella, however it needs to be considered that
YouTubers receive a lot of backlash for promoting certain products. Consumers can
easily pick up if a YouTuber has been paid to promote a certain product and The Drum
2016, highlights the question ‘Would you trust a product review from a celebrity or
anyone paid for a review over a friend?’
Online research resulting in online purchasing. 27% of consumers research products
online before purchasing, and in the last year 10.4% of sales in the Beauty Retailing
market were being made online (Mintel, 2016) resulting in potentially less consumers
shopping in Lush stores. Although Lush have revamped their website, the store
experience is key to communicating Lush’s brand values to consumers and without this,
Lush begin to lose part of their USP.
Brexit affecting the price of products for Lush and potentially consumers. As a lot
of Lush products are sourced worldwide, the implementation of Brexit may affect the
price of importing certain ingredients. As the price of ingredients increase, this cost may
be filtered down to the consumers, meaning prices will have to go up. Although
consumers still ‘flock to purchase Lush products’ regardless of the high price, this may
result in consumers considering competition more, and taking more time in the
‘information search’ aspect of the DMU.
7. Marketing Communications Objectives
1. To increase brand awareness by partnering with a popular Youtuber by April
2017. Lush’s current target market is very influenced by YouTube personalities and the
network provides a good communication platform for Lush. Through creating a
relationship with a popular vlogger, Lush wish reduce the risk of receiving negative
feedback and will be able to communicate with the influencer to establish which products
would best suit the channels audience. According to The Telegraph, product placements
with vloggers can ‘cost around £4,000’ meaning Lush need to be willing to spend in
order to take full benefits of the reach met through YouTubers. Meeting this objective by
April 2017 will coincide with all the new Lush Easter products being launched, providing
brand new products for vloggers to promote.
2. To optimise the partnership with a popular vlogger to help raise awareness of
the opening of another larger store, with the same offering as the Oxford Street
store by Dec 2017. Lush can use their usual methods of social media platforms to
create awareness as well as taking advantage of having a vlogger on board. The chosen
vlogger could organize a ‘meet and greet’ at the new store help bring in the target
market. Costs will arise through paying vloggers to promote the store opening as well as
the initial cost of building the new store, and the wages that need to be paid to new
employees. Meeting this objective by early December 2017 will provide the opportunity
to use Christmas as a reason to visit the store.
3. To maintain brand values by reinforcing values and beliefs to employees by
Nov 2017. Through the use of internally made brochures and training courses organised
for stores worldwide, Lush will be confident in the knowledge that their employees fully
understand the company’s brand values and beliefs. By ensuring all employees are fully
trained, Lush will reduce the risk of declining profits as seen in the Japanese market as
increased communication will motivate employees and boost their confidence. The cost
for Lush will be more through time than monetary cost, other than the production of
training material and brochures. Implementing this training by November 2017 will result
in staff being prepared for increased business over the Christmas period.

11. Lucy Clark SCAP 13129314
11
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