SWOT analysis of Lush

Lush Cosmetics is a company that manufactures fresh handmade beauty care, personal care, and cosmetics products. Established in the year 1994 and headquartered in London the products made by Lush Cosmetics include bath and beauty products, shower and styling gels, soaps, buttercreams, bubble and massage bars, bath bombs, shampoos, conditioners, hand and body creams, body jars of butter, foot care products, deodorants, and dusting powders.

The company is a vision on two people Mark Constantine a trichology’s and Elizabeth Weir a beauty specialist who was inspired by the story of Anita Roddick and The Body Shop and decided to launch a company which made products which were safe to use on one’s skin.

The company is privately owned and has a few shares in the market. The products are organic and made of vegan ingredients and are not tested on animals making them highly environmentally savvy and safe to be used on all types of skin. The company registered profits to the tune of 216 million pounds in the year 2016 and continues to be a highly solicited product in the cosmetics market.

Strengths  in the SWOT analysis of Lush

Strengths are defined as what each business does best in its gamut of operations which can give it an upper hand over its competitors. The following are the strengths of Lush Cosmetics :

• The Product: Lush Cosmetics products are not just different but also naturally scented and colorful to look at. Through a number of brightly colored products which have packaging that accentuates the colors, the brand has been able to capture the attention of the customer.
• Ingredients: The company makes cosmetics with natural and organic ingredients which are safe to be used on all types of skin. The brand uses only vegetarian or vegan recipes and have minimal preservatives or chemicals in them. They also have a number of products which are different and some examples include solid tubes of toothpaste which are tablets, bath bombs etc.
• Sustainability: Lush is a highly sustainable brand making sure that everything that they sell is completely organic. Their packaging also ensures that the environment is not harmed since they are biodegradable. They source responsibly and sustainably and the company has the minimal waste policy and no testing on animals.
• Real handmade: Quite unlike other companies which claim that products are handmade but are not so the products of Lush Cosmetics are actually made by human beings and not machines. The company has a strict diversity policy and their employees come from all cultures, regions, ethnicities, and genders. The employees also vary in the colors of their skin, and people of all skin tones and body types work there.
• Popular brand ambassadors: Lush Cosmetics has been riding on the popularity of the pop culture and have many brand ambassadors from these categories like Jeffree Star, Bunny, and Kylie Jenner.

Weaknesses in the SWOT analysis of Lush

Weaknesses are used to refer to areas where the business or the brand needs improvement.   Some of the key weaknesses of Lush Cosmetics  are:

• High cost of retailing: The cost of retailing is growing as brands focus increasingly on improving the in-store experience. Factors like in-store lighting, product display shelves, in-store product demonstrations etc. are all proving to be costly for the company.
• Low volumes: Most of the Lush Cosmetics stores are located in the malls in their regions. The mall traffic has started reducing and the pricing of the company has been primarily catering to the premium segment. The margins are low and this coupled with the low volumes of sales has resulted in huge losses for the business.
• Unable to match up: Lush Cosmetics was in a category which did not have too much of competition.H owever, as the makeup needs of the customer started growing the company had to make multiple variants of products or start new product categories. The difficulty to match up with new demands will affect the business.

Opportunities in the SWOT analysis of Lush

Opportunities refer to those avenues in the environment that surrounds the business on which it can capitalize to increase its returns. Some of the opportunities include:

• Growing fear of chemicals. The presence of chemicals in makeup, as well as allegations of dangerous testing in animals like rats, have drawn the attention of activity. This is a huge chance for environment-friendly and natural product companies like Lush Cosmetics to capitalize on.

Threats in the SWOT analysis of Lush

Threats are those factors in the environment which can be detrimental to the growth of the business. Some of the threats include:

• Competition:  The main competitors of Lush Cosmetics are The Body Shop, Estee Lauder, Sephora, Shisheido, and Revlon.
• Difficulty to attract customers: Makeup and cosmetics are product categories which mandate a lot of customer loyalty.Thus customers who use other brands including competing brands like Body Shop are often apprehensive to chef to Lush. In the long run, this may be a challenge for the business.