Lush is set to close 10 stores across Australia over the next three years after deciding not to renew its leases with Westfield.

The global cosmetics retailer confirmed this week that it would end its presence in the shopping centre group’s locations as part of a broader strategy focused on aligning its stores with local community “ethics”.

It remains unclear who initiated the end of the arrangement, but a Lush spokesperson told News.com.au that the company was committed to separating from Westfield, which is 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,” the spokesperson 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.”

The affected stores are understood to include Parramatta, Penrith, Miranda and Kotara in NSW; Chermside, Carindale and North Lakes in Queensland; Fountain Gate in Victoria; and Booragoon and Carousel in Western Australia.

The move will leave Lush with only one store in Perth, as two of its three existing locations in the city are situated inside Westfield centres.

Lush said it does not plan to scale back its Australian operations. Instead, it intends to shift towards high-footfall strip locations.

Further details are expected as the Westfield leases expire over the next 36 months.

The company said leaving Westfield would give it the opportunity to identify “appropriate” stores that better reflect its code of ethics.

Daily Mail has contacted Lush and Westfield for comment.

Best known for its bath bombs, soaps and other beauty products, Lush has long associated its brand with causes including animal welfare and waste reduction.

The retailer also campaigns on social and humanitarian issues and regularly launches products linked to those causes to support fundraising efforts.

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

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In October 2025, the company closed its Australian stores for a full day and halted operations at its Sydney factory for 24 hours to draw attention to the issue.

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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For 228 years, London’s oldest restaurant has welcomed some of Britain’s most prominent figures, from monarchs and aristocrats to celebrated writers.

During that long history, Rules has also been the setting for its share of scandals, secret liaisons and controversy.

The Covent Garden institution’s remarkable past has now received official recognition after the celebrity-favourite restaurant was donated to the National Trust.

The arrangement prevents the restaurant from being sold in the future and has renewed interest in the royal romances and discreet encounters that took place within its walls.

One of its most famous patrons was Edward VII, who regularly dined there with actress Lillie Langtry. A curtain was even fitted especially to give the pair greater privacy.

Edward reigned from 1901 until his death in 1910, aged 68. He was married to Princess Alexandra of Denmark, and the couple had six children.

Marriage, however, did not prevent the king from pursuing a string of romantic affairs.

Those linked romantically to Edward included Lady Randolph Churchill, the mother of Winston Churchill, along with actress Sarah Bernhardt, singer Hortense Schneider and socialite Alice Keppel.

Alice Keppel was also the great-grandmother of the current Queen Camilla.

Rules’ reputation as a backdrop for illicit relationships has also been reflected in fiction, including Graham Greene’s novel The End of the Affair.

In the 1951 book, narrator Maurice Bendrix considers whether it is possible to fall in love “over a dish of onions” while dining with his lover.

A more glamorous offering is the restaurant’s celebrated Royal 29 cocktail.

The drink was created to mark the wedding of William and Kate on April 29, 2011.

The cocktail included ground rose petals and crystallised violet petals, citrus juice, a shot of No3 Gin from Berry Bros & Rudd, half a shot of Lillet, a single measure of pink vodka and a Maraschino cherry.

Regular patrons have included another writer Charles Dickens, while further on-screen appearances were in Downton Abbey and the James Bond film Spectre.

Rock star David Bowie was also pictured there, accepting an award in 1973 in recognition of having six albums in the charts that year.

The Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein was another frequent diner and moved his management agency NEMS to a nearby office in Covent Garden.

There was also a champagne-fuelled fashion launch in May 1987 by Lily Johnson and partner Consuelo Fraser. 

The 3rd Lord Glenconner took part as a male model at the event also attended by his son Henry Tennant who died aged 30 three years later.

More recently, former I’m A Celebrity winner Joe Swash and fellow contestant and Star Trek actor George Takei were pictured when having lunch at the venue.

The venue’s website tells of historically being ‘an unofficial “green room” for the entertainment industry, hosting legendary actors from Henry Irving to Laurence Olivier and cinema icons like Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin’.

The restaurant has been owned by just four different families across its 228-year history, during which Britain had the reigns of two queens and eight kings. 

It is the latest owner, Jean Pierre Mayhew, 78, who has decided after more than four decades to give the £11million building housing the restaurant – between Covent Garden and The Strand in central London – to the Trust.

Rules, renowned for its panelling, red velvet and brass, will operate as before.

Ricky McMenemy, existing owner of the catering business, will become a commercial Trust tenant.

Rules was opened by Thomas Rule, whose family remained owners until the end of the First World War.

In the beginning, the restaurant focused on oysters – still on the menu, now at £5.75 each.

Other meals which could have been enjoyed by Dickens or patrons such as Charlie Chaplin and Carol Channing have included steak and kidney pie, now £26.25, with chips, mash or dauphinoise potatoes for £6.95 extra.

The puddings and cheese menu features an apple and sultana crumble with custard for £11.50, and stilton cheese and biscuits priced at £13.95.

National Trust director general Hilary McGrady thanked donor Mr Mayhew, saying: ‘This place is an outstanding piece of living history, with its corners where kings dined and writers and politicians plotted, and the traditions it kept alive through wars and upheaval.

‘It has defied the odds to be standing here today, doors still open and treacle sponge still on the menu.

‘Mr Mayhew’s extraordinary generosity, and the care he has poured into Rules over many decades, mean this beloved place has a future measured not in years but generations.’

Rules was previously threatened with destruction by the Greater London Council in 1971 – set to be demolished along with nearby historic market Covent Garden, while the Strand was to become a dual carriageway.

Only a campaign involving Rules diner and poet Sir John Betjeman helped stop the unwanted ‘progress’.

Sir John said at a planning meeting: ‘A place constantly used by actors, managers and famous people, as Rules has, acquires an invisible atmosphere, just as a church frequented by praying people acquires an atmosphere.

‘We can sense it and it will not photograph.’

Others dining at Rules include authors William Makepeace Thackeray, HG Wells, Evelyn Waugh and John Le Carre as well as agony aunt Claire Rayner.

James Bond actors Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan have also been seen there too.

The Rules website tells of its history, including how during the Second World War it remained open ‘offering essential rationed meals at five shillings while still indulging patrons with the likes of rabbits, grouse, and pheasants’.

It declares: ‘Rules is more than just a restaurant, it’s a living relic of London’s past.

‘Situated on Maiden Lane, an ancient path that connected the convent garden of Westminster Abbey to St Martin’s Lane, the restaurant has been a witness to London’s ever-changing history.

‘From J.M.W. Turner’s birthplace to tales of Andrew Marvell, Maiden Lane’s historical significance is woven into Rules’ narrative.’

Mr Mayhew bought the restaurant in 1984 from the daughter of Tom Bell. 

Current owner Mr McMenemy has worked there for 35 years, with the restaurant having 90 staff members and with accommodation for 90 diners.

Samia Malik, a young Pakistani international student, was killed after being struck by a car while appearing to kneel in the middle of a South Australian road. At the time, she was reportedly dealing with financial hardship and the emotional fallout of a recent break-up.

The 20-year-old had been on North East Road in Hillcrest, Adelaide’s north-east, for about four minutes when she was hit at approximately 11pm on May 6 last year.

Ashton Friend, the driver involved, was sentenced in South Australia’s District Court last Friday for causing Samia’s death and fleeing the crash scene. He avoided a prison sentence.

Judge Anne Barnett said CCTV footage appeared to show Samia holding her hands in a position resembling prayer shortly before the fatal collision.

The court heard no confirmed explanation for why Samia was in such a dangerous position on the road. However, a source familiar with the South Australian Pakistani community rejected the suggestion that she had been praying, calling it “ridiculous”.

The Daily Mail understands Samia had been under financial strain and had recently ended a short relationship with a young Pakistani man.

Samia was reportedly working part-time as a security officer when she met the man. Their relationship allegedly faced opposition from his family, adding to the pressure surrounding the couple.

A prominent figure in South Australia’s Pakistani community said Samia’s family had chosen not to discuss publicly what happened in the lead-up to her death.

Her parents travelled to Adelaide for their daughter’s funeral and burial before returning to Pakistan without making public comments.

“They were very tight-lipped about what caused that poor girl to be on the road,” the community source said.

“Everyone wanted to understand why she had been there and what had led to the accident.”

“The safest thing we can say, based on what we heard from several sources, is that she was facing significant financial stress and was also involved with a young man.”

“I was told his parents did not approve of the relationship, which created more pressure. That man is now married to someone else.”

The source also dismissed the claim that Samia had been engaged in Muslim prayer when she was struck by Friend’s vehicle.

“What we understand is that she was changing positions on the road,” he said. “She was sitting on one side and then moving to the other.”

“The suggestion that she was kneeling as part of a prayer gesture was not correct. That explanation was ridiculous.”

“Muslims kneel in that way when they pray in many parts of the world.”

“The idea that she must have been praying simply because she was Muslim is completely absurd.”

‘She was just under stress, just trying to sit down, not to pray.’ 

The source said the main cause of Samia’s troubles appeared to have been a lack of money.

‘First was financial,’ he said. ‘Because she was a student. They have to come up with the fees and look after themselves. The part of the world they come from is not always supportive financially.’

The source said it might never be known exactly why Samia put herself on the roadway in the path of Friend’s vehicle.

‘The best source would be the family, but they didn’t talk to us,’ he said. ‘They didn’t share a single thing. 

‘That’s like the culture of somebody from Pakistan. Something happens to the female of the house, they immediately become secret.’

Another senior figure in South Australia’s Pakistani community said Samia came from a ‘good family’ but they did not wish to engage with their local countrymen. 

‘Maybe they don’t want to disclose but they didn’t give us any of what happened,’ he said. 

‘That’s someone’s personal matter. It’s not good to interfere with someone’s personal matters if they don’t want to disclose.’

‘Nobody has answered what went wrong with her. Overseas students face a lot of challenges. They have to do everything on their own.’

Samia’s older brother Zaheer Malik, who lives in Sydney, launched a GoFundMe appeal to cover his sister’s funeral expenses which quickly raised $30,974. 

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Zaheer said he was writing ‘with a shattered heart’ as he described Samia being ‘killed in a horrific hit-and-run in Adelaide’. 

‘She was walking – just walking – when a driver hit her and drove away, leaving her on the road,’ he said. ‘CPR couldn’t save her. She died alone in a foreign country, far from her family, far from home.

‘She came to Australia with dreams, with courage. She was an international student, studying hard, paying her own way through university. 

‘No work cover. No insurance. Nothing to protect her, no help in death, just like there was no one to help her in her final moments.’

Zaheer said his family wanted to lay Samia to rest ‘in a place where she can be remembered, surrounded by friends and loved ones’ but did not have the means to pay for her funeral arrangements.  

‘Every moment without her feels like the world has stopped,’ he said. ‘Our family is in pieces. There are no words for this kind of grief.’

The Daily Mail tried to contact Zaheer.

Friend pleaded guilty to causing death by careless use of a motor vehicle and leaving the scene of an accident.

The 20-year-old had been driving home from his girlfriend’s house when he struck Samia and was ‘at a loss’ as to what had happened, which was why he failed to stop.

Defence barrister Jane Abbey KC told the court last month her client had not been aware ‘there was something on the road’.

‘He heard this noise,’ she said. ‘What he hoped was that it had been an animal, or something like that.’

Ms Abbey submitted that due to the limited damage sustained by his car, Friend assumed he had not struck a person.

‘He was checking his rear vision, but he did not see her – he should have,’ she said.

‘Initially, he just did not realise he had hit a person.’

The court heard Friend realised what had happened when he saw news reports about Samia’s death which sent him into a ‘state of paralysis’.

He was identified by police a week later and arrested.

‘He just could not reconcile what he had done’, Ms Abbey said.

The court heard Friend was not affected by drugs or alcohol and was not speeding when he killed Samia.

In an apology read to her family, Friend said he could ‘only imagine the indescribable pain’ they were feeling.

‘I will have to carry my failures with me for as long as I live,’ he said.

‘I am deeply sorry for the life that was lost, the grief and the trauma caused to Samia’s family and loved ones.

‘There is no excuse for my actions, or my failure to act – and I should have acted. I do not place responsibility on anyone else; it is mine alone.

‘I take full responsibility for my actions and their consequences. I stand before this court with genuine remorse and a commitment to reflect on, learn from and be accountable for what I have done.’

Judge Barnett served Friend a suspended sentence of one year, three months and 29 days with a non-parole period of eight months, and placed him on a good behaviour bond for two years.

Samia’s sister Qudisya Malik, who lives in Victoria, remembered her late sibling as ‘a remarkable young woman’ in a victim impact statement provided ahead of Friend’s sentencing.

‘Grief has become part of my everyday life and there are moments where the pain feels just as fresh as it did on the day we lost her,’ she said.

‘Every important milestone reminds us that someone deeply loved is missing. There is always an empty place where Samia should have been.

‘Nothing can ever replace Samia. We have lost a daughter, a sister, a friend and a remarkable young woman who had so much life ahead of her. 

‘Samia will always remain part of our family. She may no longer be physically with us but she continues to live on in our hearts.’