The Tamesis
Since Rhode was acquired by Elf Beauty for $1 billion last May, founder Hailey Bieber has been taking her brand on a world tour to Canada, the United Kingdom and France. The brand made its Australian debut last week, launching at Mecca, a well-known multi-brand retailer in Australia and New Zealand. It was the biggest launch in the beauty retailer’s history, with more than 1 million visitors to its 110 stores over the launch weekend (February 12-15).
This follows Bieber’s sell-out UK launch with Sephora in September 2025, Sephora UK’s largest product launch to date, while Rhode continues to build scale through international expansion, new product launches and destination pop-ups.
“Australia made sense as our next market because we knew and saw that there was a huge demand for the brand there,” Bieber told us fashion business A few days after launch, it became available exclusively on Zoom. She had flown from Sydney to London for the photo shoot. “Mecca was an obvious partner,” she continued, “it is Australia’s number one beauty destination and has its own incredibly loyal fan base.”
In order to plant his own flag in the new field, Bieber, who still serves as Lord’s chief creative officer and head of innovation, attended the conference in person. She employs a careful strategy that includes social media-friendly, sensory local pop-ups, limited-edition product launches, and face-to-face interactions with consumers to drive brand equity.
“Rhode is my baby, and going into retail there’s always a little bit of nervousness about taking it into a new space. You really don’t know how people are going to take it,” she said. “[But] It’s very important to me that the brand is present in stores alongside other truly incredible brands. “
For the Australian launch, the brand set up a bakery pop-up offering local sweets such as lamingtons, square sponge cakes dipped in chocolate frosting and smeared with desiccated coconut, as well as branded coffee mugs and pastry cases. Bakery customers receive a stamped card that they can take with them to a designated Mecca store to redeem a Rod sample. Bieber himself greeted fans and took photos at the Mecca and Bakery pop-up. She even attended Sydney Wuthering Heights Premiered in town and caused a sensation.
