MECCA Brands

We believe in backing bold, practical solutions that improve the lives of women and girls. And we’re proud to support a major step forward for AI-powered breast cancer detection in Australia.   MECCA M-POWER is committing a further $500,000 in catalytic funding to help fast track bringing BRAIx - a world‑leading, Australian‑developed AI powered breast cancer detection program - into screening programs across Australia.   Led by 2025 MECCA Prize recipient Associate Professor Helen Frazer at @St Vincent’s BreastScreen, in collaboration with St Vincent's Institute of Medical Research (SVI), BRAIx brings together clinical and computational expertise to transform the screening process, helping detect cancers earlier, reduce unnecessary recalls, and tailor screening to each individual.   This builds on our $1 million investment into ongoing trials focused on making breast cancer screening more accurate, personalised, and efficient, with the hope of saving more lives and creating meaningful, lasting change for women and families for generations to come.

This weekend, more than 100 MECCA team members (our biggest turnout yet!) showed up at the Melbourne Teams Corporate Triathlon in St Kilda, bringing plenty of team spirit, early-morning energy and a pop of MECCA colour to the course. It was especially meaningful to share the day with our M-POWER partner, Bridge It, with CEO Carla Raynes 🦋 taking on the triathlon alongside members of the Bridge It team and residents from ‘The Cocoon’ - Bridge It’s residential program supporting young women exiting out-of-home care or experiencing homelessness. The Bridge It team was thrilled to learn that we had raised $20,000, which will go towards supporting wellness programs for young people at Cocoon 2 - helping residents build stability, confidence and independence.

International Women’s Day always makes us pause and reflect on why we do what we do at MECCA.   From the earliest days, our ambition was always bigger than selling beauty. It was about confidence, agency and belonging. Creating a place where people felt seen.   That belief still guides us today.   Since 2022, MECCA has committed more than $35 million to advancing gender equality through M-POWER and our team has raised hundreds of thousands more for over 20 not-for-profit organisations.   But the work goes beyond funding.   When you consider that less than 1% of recorded history centres on women, it reminds us how easily women’s contributions can disappear. Through the MECCA Archive we are building a growing collection of beauty’s defining cultural moments, ensuring women’s creativity, ideas and cultural impact are documented and remembered.   Over the past year we have also sharpened our focus on three areas where we believe we can make a real difference: arts and culture, health and wellbeing, and education. This month alone we are: - Working with 2025 MECCA Prize winner Dr Stacy Sims to bring practical education about women’s physiology into classrooms, with resources expected to reach around 260,000 students in their first year. - Supporting researchers like Associate Professor Helen Frazer who are using AI to improve the detection and prevention of breast cancer. - Partnering with the NGV to champion women in art and design through initiatives like the Women in Design Commission.   For us, gender equality isn’t separate from the business – it’s part of how we build trust with our customers, support our team and contribute to the communities we’re part of.   There is still much more to do. But we’re proud of the role our team, our partners and our customers are playing in helping move things forward.   Happy International Women’s Day. MECCA M-POWER: https://lnkd.in/g3PXesii MECCA ARCHIVE: https://lnkd.in/gsEYrgg7

Last week we brought together more than 450 of our retail leaders for three action-packed days of education, inspiration, and connection at our MECCA Leadership Conference in Sydney.   We shared our exciting plans for 2026, connected through hands-on workshops, and heard from incredible guest speakers including Australian author, Anna Funder on beauty as self-expression, and co-owner and Director of Women in Automotive, Kate Peck on leadership, representation and backing yourself.   We took over Luna Park for a special evening celebrating our value award winners. And if that wasn’t enough, we launched our biggest new brand yet - rhode!   rhode’s Founder and Chief Creative Officer Hailey Bieber joined us to share with our team why coming to MECCA was a “no brainer”, before visiting MECCA George Street to see firsthand the excitement of customers lined up to be among the first in Australia to experience the skincare brand changing the beauty conversation.   A uniquely MECCA week, making sure our retail teams are primed to deliver the energy, expertise, joy and MECCA magic our customers expect every time they walk through our doors.

This summer, MECCA and MECCA COSMETICA were proud to be the Official Beauty and SPF Partner of the Australian Open, showing up at scale to protect, support and champion people on and off the court.   Over three weeks, we welcomed thousands of visitors into the three-storey MECCA Pro Shop and made sure all 1.3 million fans had access to sunscreen through 17 MECCA COSTMETICA SPF touchpoints across Melbourne Park, including our SPF Studio, huts and stations, helping everyone stay protected under the Australian sun.   From the Pro Shop and the SPF Studio to the Players’ Lounge and incredible courtside moments, beauty and wellbeing were at the heart of the experience. But this partnership was deeper than sunscreen and storefronts.   On court, MECCA M-POWER was in full swing. Through our support of rising talent Tahlia Kokkinis and our sponsorship of all four Women’s Tennis Foundation scholarships in 2026, we’re backing the next generation of women in tennis with something that matters most: opportunity.   We also recorded a special Australian Open episode of Momentum, bringing together three generations of women in tennis to talk candidly about progress, pressure and what real support looks like across every stage of a career. It’s a reminder that when brand and purpose move together, innovation becomes a tool for impact.   As a business born in Melbourne, partnering with the Australian Open was a meaningful moment for MECCA. We’re incredibly proud of the teams and partners who brought it to life, and of the role we continue to play in backing women in sport. Listen to Momentum: https://shorturl.at/mErlJ Daria Saville OLY Nicole Pratt, OLY Photography: Hugh Davies

We’re so proud that Jo Horgan, our Founder and Co-CEO, has been named Melburnian of the Year for 2025!   Since opening MECCA’s very first store in Melbourne over 27 years ago, Jo has helped shape the beauty landscape in Australia, by reimagining experiential retail, investing in bricks and mortar and championing creativity, connection and community. And with the opening of MECCA Bourke Street this year, one of the largest beauty stores in the world, her vision has firmly put Melbourne on the global beauty map.    But Jo’s impact extends far beyond beauty. This award also recognises her decades-long commitment to driving systematic change for gender equality through M-POWER, fuelled by her unwavering belief that when women are empowered, communities thrive.   Congrats, Jo! City of Melbourne

Bringing the best of global beauty to our community takes more than great products, it takes great logistics. That’s why we’re scaling up with a new National Distribution Centre. When you’re moving millions of shades, scents and serums across Australia and New Zealand, every detail matters, from the way we store products to how they find their way to you. Our new facility will help us do it better, faster and more sustainably. We’re so grateful to be working with our leading industry partners Melbourne Airport Property, Donald Cant Watts Corke (DCWC), Texco Construction, KNAPP AUSTRALIA and TMX Transform to bring it all to life by 2027. It might not be glamorous (yet), but it’s a big part of what keeps MECCA moving behind the scenes.

At MECCA, we take gifting seriously. From choosing the perfect products, wrapping them with love and adding those finishing touches - it brings us so much joy. But, we also know that finding the perfect gifts for large teams, clients and big events isn’t always a joyful experience. That’s where we come in - our not-so-corporate gifting service takes the stress out of the season. Choose from carefully curated edits or let us create something special, just for your group. We’ll handle the details, you just sit back and enjoy the most wonderful time of the year. If gifting is on your to-do list, reach out to us here: https://lnkd.in/gHexBVR6

Big things come in small (and beautiful) packages, so we’re thrilled to see our bespoke MECCA Sample Pots recognised with a Gold Award at the Australian Good Design Awards!   Designed and made in Australia in collaboration with Vert Design, these mighty little pots prove that even the smallest details can make a big impact – made from recycled material and thoughtfully crafted for reuse. We’ve been trialling these in a handful of our stores over the past six months, and our teams and customers are loving the new design. We can’t wait to roll them out across our full network early next year!

This International Day of the Girl, we proudly announced a series of bold, long-term commitments to accelerate progress towards gender equality through MECCA M-POWER.   This includes a $10 million, 10-year partnership with Co-Impact’s Gender Fund, which brings together local changemakers and funders to scale women-led solutions transforming systems in health, education and economic opportunities.   We also launched the inaugural MECCA Prize – an annual award recognising people and projects creating lasting impact by reshaping industries and inspiring new possibilities for the next generation.   Our first, very deserving recipients are: - Assoc. Prof. Helen Frazer, pioneering AI innovation to improve early breast-cancer detection. - Dr. Stacy T. Sims, PhD, rewriting the science of women’s physiology and empowering girls through her Next Gen program. - Katy Hessel, rewriting women into art history and reimagining beauty as culture.   Together, these new initiatives take MECCA’s commitment in driving change for women and girls to $35 million – reflecting our belief that beauty can be a powerful force to shift systems, challenge stereotypes and elevate new ideas.   We’ll continue to work closely with the MECCA Prize recipients throughout the year to shine a spotlight on their work, so stay tuned as we share more about the impact they’re creating! St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne, St Vincent's Institute of Medical Research, BreastScreen Victoria, University of Melbourne