Lush shops reopen after a 3 month closure

Press release

Lush reopened 88* shops in England on Monday 15th June, following an almost three month closure.

Wales and Ireland shops reopen on 22nd June.

Scottish high street shops reopen on 29th June, while shopping centres in Scotland are still to be confirmed.

At the point of lockdown each individual Lush shop did all they could to pass their stock, especially the soap which had run out in supermarkets at that time, to charities and groups in their local communities. As a result, many shops will reopen with fresh stock that is only days old.

A new shopping experience

Finding new ways to provide such a personal service to customers is an interesting challenge and the brand anticipates a change in customer experience whilst virus control measures remain in place. 

The UK team have been reviewing feedback from what has been working well in other countries who have already reopened.

Alongside local government guidelines – such as observing advised social distancing rules, no hands on demonstrations and having a safe queuing system to enter – safety measures for each Lush shop reopening in England will also include…

• Lower staffing levels to begin with. Lush will be providing face coverings for staff to use if they wish.
• A continuous cleaning rota.
• Customers will be invited to wash their hands as soon as they arrive in store with their own piece of soap peel.
• No product testers on display.
• Shops will have pre-filled sample pots of some of Lush’s most popular products, complete with a tamper proof seal.
• Till points will be 2m apart and be installed with recycled and recyclable perspex screens.
• Signage will be on display at the front of each shop to explain the new procedures to customers.
• Kiosk purchasing at the front door may be set up in a number of shops if they are more comfortable with this to begin with, avoiding the need for customers to enter the shop at all.
• Shops will also be supported through tech advances such as Lush Lens. Designed by Lush’s in-house tech R&D team, customers can download the Lush Labs app on android and iPhone and scan unpackaged products (over 50% of Lush’s range) in-store. The phone’s camera and Machine Learning are able to recognise products and give the customer detailed ingredient information, price and ‘how to use’ demonstrations through immersive videos via the app. The feature is available in 30 countries and 20 different languages.

The Lush Spa and Hair Lab bookings will continue to be suspended until further notice. All party bookings will also be suspended – digital party formats are currently being worked on.

The brand is asking all customers to pay by card and will not be taking cash at this time. This will be assessed weekly however.

Alternative ways to trade

Outside of the usual customer journey of serving customers in shops, Lush has been getting creative with different ways customers can shop with them to provide as many options as possible.

Shops can choose to run some of the following:

• Order and Collect
• Virtual consultations: Moving some of the customer experience online so that when customers come into store they can pick up their products quickly and easily.
• Taking orders from the queue outside: Orders can be ready and bagged when the customer enters the shop, limiting the amount of time the customer has to spend in the shop. 

For further press enquiries please contact stephanie@lush.co.uk or call 0207 434 3948.

Notes to Editors

*Lush is reopening 88 of its 89 shops in England on 15th June. The only shop delayed is High Wycombe, which is currently recruiting for new management.

For full Lush information about the Coronavirus crises, please visit: https://weare.lush.com/lush-life/our-company/covid-19-lush-updates

About Lush

Since establishing 25 years ago, Lush has been driven by innovation and its ethics. Creators of pioneering beauty products such as the fizzing bath bomb, shower jellies and solid shampoo bars, Lush places emphasis on fresh ingredients like organic fruits and vegetables. Lush fights tirelessly against animal testing and operates a thoroughly comprehensive Ethical Buying department, developing fair and direct trade initiatives.  Lush leads the cosmetics industry in combating over-packaging by running public awareness campaigns and developing products that can be sold ‘naked’ to the consumer without any packaging.

Today Lush operates in 48 countries with over 900 shops, 38 websites shipping worldwide and a global network of native apps, broadcasting channels and digital communities in over 30 languages. www.lush.com