MECCA Brands

Our brands are integral to MECCA – we treat each and every one as though they’re our own. So, when we’re lucky enough to have brand founders in town, we take every opportunity to immerse ourselves in their story and their products.   Last week was extra special when Donni Davy, founder of Half Magic Beauty, joined us at MECCA Support Centre all the way from Los Angeles. Best known for being the Emmy award-winning makeup artist behind 'Euphoria', Donni spent much of the week on the ground with our team, spreading the magic.   Here’s a snippet of what Donni got up to in her week Down Under: ✨ A guest appearance at our Monday Morning Meeting, greeted by eager team members (and lots of confetti). ✨ Face-to-face training with Makeup Specialists from our store teams, passing on her tips and tricks, insight into her creative process and the inside scoop on being an artist in the TV and music industries. ✨ A visit to our Sydney flagship for the official launch! ✨ Hosting Half Magic Beauty Labs – and meeting many excited customers.   Beyond the signature glitter liner and rhinestones, Donni left us with an unforgettable message that captures the essence of her brand: Half Magic is for the red carpet, the silver screen or the supermarket – it’s not about going somewhere special, it's because you are special.   A big thank you to Donni for making the trip to Australia and inspiring us all to add some glitter to our faces for the week (and beyond)!   #MECCAmoment

This month, we said #GdayGlossier and launched the iconic NYC brand into Australia and Aotearoa (New Zealand). With founder Emily Weiss in market, our teams eagerly jumped on the opportunity to immerse themselves in all things Glossier, Inc. so they could share the magic of the brand with our customers.   With face-to-face training, cosy fireside chats with Emily Weiss herself, and even a Q&A at our weekly Monday Morning Meeting, there was so much to celebrate and do!   Glossier also took over our stores, with photobooths and claw machines, digital Instagram filters, and Beauty Labs to introduce customers to their iconic brands and products. Glossier was welcomed to our shores in true MECCA style! #MECCAmoment

Last Friday, we opened the doors to our new MECCA Albert Park store, located on Bunurong country in Melbourne. Situated down the street from the original store, MECCA Albert Park has been expanded to a spacious 354sqm2 and renovated into the ultimate beauty wonderland for our customers to explore, with a new artistry area located on the sunny atrium, a perfumeria space for fragrance lovers and a newly installed skin services area. Designed in partnership with Studio McQualter, everything about this store is custom, from the artisan tiles, exposed concrete pillars, polished plaster features and the bespoke marble tables throughout the space. And, in order to make a magical store, you need a magical team behind it - it took the collaboration, innovation and determination of all our MECCA teams to bring the new MECCA Albert Park to life for our customers. We can't wait to see you there!

Last year, MECCA M-POWER joined several other major philanthropic organisations in pledging our support for constitutional recognition of First Nations people. As part of that, we were privileged to meet one of two female Co-Chairs of the Uluru Dialogue, Professor Megan Davis. Professor Davis was instrumental in the design and delivery of the historic consultation process that led to the issuing of the Uluru Statement of the Heart, and ultimately to the 2023 Voice referendum.   This NAIDOC Week, we're delighted to reconnect with her through this powerful op-ed, where she explores change, hope, the importance of constitutional recognition for First Nations people and the 6.2 million friends she didn’t know she had. Read her important reflections here: https://bit.ly/4eYVix4   #NAIDOCWeek #UluruStatement #FirstNations #MECCA #MECCAMPOWER 

Founders of INTU WELLNESS, Anna Robards and Christie Whitehill, stopped by MECCA Support Centre last month to take our team through the formulations of their 'beauty super powders' during an interactive Lunch and Learn...    Here's what we learnt about their three hero products: ❤️ Gut & Skin Rejuvenation* – featuring turmeric and ginger, traditionally used in Western herbal medicine to relieve digestive discomfort. 💙 Sleep & Skin Renewal* – with hydrolysed marine collagen to maintain skin elasticity and zinc to support skin integrity. 💚 Energy & Skin Renewal* – featuring vitamin B5 to support a healthy stress response in the body and zinc to support cognitive function. Thanks for popping by and we can't wait to see you next time! * Always read the label and follow directions for use. 

Earlier this month we held our very first M-PACT Lunch and Learn, a series where we invite sustainability leaders from a range of industries to our Support Centre to share their expertise and stories about how they weave sustainable thinking into everything they do. And what a treat it was to learn from (and be fed by!) Jason Staudt, Executive Chef at St Kilda’s Stokehouse Restaurants and sustainability trailblazer. Jason shared some of the innovative and forward-thinking ways he and his team are paving the way for sustainable fine dining, and inspired our team think about the things they can do to shop, cook and eat more sustainably at home. The biggest takeaway from Jason’s session was to ‘just start’ – sustainability isn’t achieved by a few people doing it perfectly, it’s about everyone doing their bit (small or big) to help create change. Our deepest thanks to Jason and his team for such a thought-provoking chat (and fantastic lunch!). 

The Nordstrom team have been close friends of MECCA for over a decade. So, when our Founder and Co-CEO, Jo Horgan, was in the USA for the recent MECCA x Stanford Leadership Program, she jumped at the chance to sit down with Pete Nordstrom, President and Chief Brand Officer at Nordstrom, to talk all things MECCA on The Nordy Pod. Tap to listen to the episode here: https://apple.co/3KxOXea

Last week, we launched MECCA’s Leadership Program at Stanford University Graduate School of Business in Palo Alto, California, with 40 of our leaders living on campus and learning from world-leading thinkers on topics like leadership, strategy, artificial intelligence (AI), scaling businesses, design thinking, value chain planning, storytelling, stress management and longevity. They even learnt from NASCAR experts about the power of teamwork (… and how to change a tyre in less than 30 seconds).     Stanford’s motto is: “Change Lives. Change Organisations. Change the World,” and it delivered. Our leaders approached the week with a love of learning, curiosity, and a sense of adventure, and left with full minds and deeper connections.    We’re big believers in the power of education, and MECCA’s long-term partnership with Stanford will provide our senior leaders with life-changing experiences, which will help us have a greater positive impact on our team members, our customers, our brands, and the broader MECCA community.    Congratulations to the MECCA x Stanford Class of 2024!    📸 Josh Edelson Photography 

It’s here! The Stan. Original Documentary Trailblazers is now streaming, exclusively on Stan. Supported by MECCA’s social change initiative, M-POWER, the film tells the inspiring story of Australia’s much-loved national women’s football team, the Matildas, and their fight for equality. The story of the rise of women's football is symbolic of the progress that's been made towards gender equality more broadly. And the Matildas’ courage to stand up for their worth and challenge the status quo aligns with MECCA's history as a disruptor, and M-POWER’s mission to pave the way for future generations of women and girls to be their best.   Through this film, we aim to progress equality in sport (and beyond) through an impact campaign that will share the powerful messages of the film with schools, businesses and sports clubs around Australia.   Our stores are getting behind the campaign too! Look out for the printed signage in-store, the Trailblazers trailer on our digital screens and our team wearing their best Matildas-inspired makeup looks.   Join the movement to blaze a trail for gender equality by watching Trailblazers on Stan and sharing it with your network. Visit trailblazersfilm.com.au to find out more – and most importantly, get behind women’s sport by volunteering, watching or playing it! #MECCAmoment  

Last week we welcomed Go-To Skincare Pty Ltd Founder and Queen of Peach, Zoë Foster Blake, to the MECCA Support Centre for a Lunch & Learn session.   It was a full house of eager MECCA team members, who were able to gain insight into what happens behind the scenes at Go-To, plus some valuable information on their newest launch, Very Amazing Retinal. Questions were answered, sandwiches were enjoyed and many a laugh was shared between Zoë and the wider MECCA team. A big thank you to Zoë for her time and the perfectly peachy Go-To caps we’ve been sporting ever since! #MECCAmoment