UK beauty brand Lush to enter India

Brand has applied to Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion last week under single brand retail umbrella

British beauty brand Lush, known for fresh handmade cosmetics such as the fizzing bath bomb and solid shampoo bars, is looking to enter Indian market.

The brand applied to the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) last week under the single brand retail umbrella and is awaiting clearance from the agency.

The brand, which runs 900 stores globally, is looking to open a store in Delhi towards the end of this year. “Our investment will initially be limited to setting up and running a single shop in Delhi…. If the market responds well, we plan to develop this into a multi-million pound investment as we expand our presence through brick and mortar stores and, if the government allows it, online,” said Rose Byfleet, project manager, Lush India.

Lush is also planning to launch Charity Pot here. This is a hand and body lotion. The entire sale proceeds go directly to local charities it supports. “We have set this up in many countries and we look forward to being able to give back to local communities in India too,” Byfleet said.

Lush already sourced goods worth 1.3 million pounds annually from India and that included henna, indigo, saffron and jasmine, Byfleet said. The company also buys cotton rag paper used to wrap gifts from a small company in Southern India and its scarves and bags are sourced from an Indian co-operative called re-wrap.

Lush is also expanding its presence globally. According to its website, the brand is in the process of opening a shop and spa in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in the first half of 2014. The brand is also looking to expand in South America, Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Sudan.

Foreign retailers and brands have entered the Indian market under single brand retailing in a big way in the last couple of years. The government has cleared single-brand retail proposals worth more than Rs 12,000 crore (nearly $2 billion) in the past year.

The biggest among them is Swedish furniture retailer IKEA's Rs 10,500-crore proposal. Others include Swedish apparel retail maker H&M and French company Decathlon (Rs 700 crore each). Since 2006, the government has cleared 60-70 proposals of single-brand retail after the segment was opened to foreign investors.