Cult beauty brand Lush cuts ties with Westfield – and many customers are all for it: ‘Good on them’

Lush will close 10 stores across Australia over the next three years as the company ends its partnership with Westfield.

The global cosmetics brand this week confirmed it would not renew its lease with the shopping centre giant as part of its wider goal to align with community ‘ethics’.

It is unclear who initiated the end of the contract but a Lush spokesperson told News.com.au the company was set on parting ways with Westfield, operated in Australia by Scentre Group.

‘Over the next three years, Lush will be coming out of all 10 of our Westfield locations across Australia,’ they said.

‘We aim to grow our presence across the country by serving local communities in the right locations with the appropriate size and type of store.

‘Lush is at its best when it reflects not just the skin and haircare needs of local communities, but amplifies that community’s values and aspirations.’

It’s understood the locations on the chopping block are Parramatta, Penrith, Miranda and Kotara in NSW; Chermside, Carindale and North Lakes in Queensland; Fountain Gate in Victoria; and Booragoon and Carousel in WA.

It will leave just one Lush store open in Perth, with two of its existing three locations located in Westfield centres.

Lush doesn’t intend to reduce its presence in Australia but instead switch to strip locations with heavy foot traffic. 

More details will be released as Westfield leases end over the next 36 months.

Lush noted the end of its lease with Westfield will allow it to find ‘appropriate’ stores that align with its code of ethics.

Daily Mail has contacted Lush and Westfield for comment.

Well known for its bath bombs, soaps and other related products, the beauty brand is closely aligned with various causes, specifically animal welfare and waste reduction.

It focuses heavily on social and humanitarian issues and frequently releases products aligned with those causes as part of fundraising initiatives.

Lush has been outspoken about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza since conflict reignited between Palestine and Israel in 2023.

As part of its effort to bring attention to the cause, Lush closed its Australian stores for a full day in October 2025 and ceased operations at its Sydney factory for 24 hours.

Shop windows featured banners reading: ‘Stop starving Gaza – we are closed in solidarity’ during that time.

The stunt drew widespread debate with some applauding the brand for staying true to its activist roots while others accused it of ‘moral selectivity’.

Centre management at Westfield Chermside, in Brisbane, covered the store’s windows to block shoppers from viewing the Gaza banners. 

Many customers praised the beauty brand for standing by its values.

‘I’ll continue to support Lush. Not only are they animal friendly and environmentally friendly, they’re pro-Palestine,’ one commented online.

Another added: ‘Good on them! I’m sad I won’t be able to smell their products in-store before buying.’

Others were not sorry to see the stores shut up shop.

‘Thank god. The smell that comes from these stores is disgusting,’ one wrote.

‘Full of synthetic smells,’ another said. 

Founded in England in 1995, Lush opened its first Australian store two years later and had since expanded to almost 900 locations in 50 countries worldwide.

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