Mark Constantine: The Willy Wonka of the Beauty Industry
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Case Details:
Case Code : LDEN046
Case Length : 24 Pages
Period : 2002-2006
Pub Date : 2007
Teaching Note : Available
Organization : Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics
Industry : Beauty care / Cosmetics
Countries : UK, Europe, USA
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Please note:
This case study was compiled from published sources, and is intended to be used as a basis for class discussion. It is not intended to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a management situation. Nor is it a primary information source.
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Excerpts Contd...
Failed Bid to Buy Body Shop
In the late 1990s, while Lush was going from
strength to strength, Body Shop was faced with many problems. Body
Shop's problems had surfaced in the early 1990s itself. Many "me
too" retailers had emerged who ran their businesses on the green
environmental plank. The Boots Group Plc (now Alliance Boots )
launched the Botanics and Natural Collection range that directly
competed with Body Shop...
B Never too Busy to be Beautiful
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Buoyed by the success of Lush, Constantine launched a sister company called B
Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful (Be Never). Analysts termed it as a "super
girlie" store and the company reinforced this positioning with tagline such as
"Santa's wife shops here!" as opposed to the tagline "Santa shops here" for Lush
(Refer to Exhibit V for a logo of B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful, and Exhibit
VI for pictures of a B Never store).
As of December 2006, it had only three stores. This chain of stores focused on
makeup and fragrances and the products sold were more expensive than those sold
at Lush...
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Constantine's Entrepreneurial Genius
Pioneer of 'Against Animal Testing' Slant in Marketing of Cosmetics
Constantine was widely regarded as the pioneer in marketing cruelty-free
cosmetics. He was credited with bringing the 'Against Animal Testing' slant
into the marketing of cosmetics and was responsible for the original 'Against Animal Testing' campaign in 1985, which the Body Shop had been
espousing ever since. He was instrumental in the UK government's decision in
1998 to ban animal testing for cosmetic products and ingredients...
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The Future as He Sees it
As of end 2006, Lush had more than 400 stores in around 29 countries across
the world. (Refer to Exhibit VIII for the countries where Lush stores are
located). It had £63 million in annual sales revenues and a staff strength
of over 1,500 employees.
Already two of Constantine's sons, Simon and Jack, had joined Lush. Though
Constantine had originally intended this stint at Lush to be a launching pad
for their separate careers, they stayed back. As of end 2006, Constantine's
daughter Claire had yet to make up her mind regarding joining the
business... |
Exhibits
Exhibit I: A Photograph of Mark Constantine
Exhibit II: The Logo of Lush
Exhibit III: Some Products of Lush: Fit to Eat?
Exhibit IV: Views from inside Lush Stores: Welcome to the "Beauty Deli"
Exhibit V: B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful Logo
Exhibit VI: Views from B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful Store
Exhibit VII: Screenshot of Bnevertoobusytobebeautiful.com
Exhibit VIII: Countries where Lush Stores are Located
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