Living in Australia and working for L’Oréal as a project manager, Jo Horgan saw an opportunity to sell beauty in a different way then the branded department store model. In 1997 she left her job, sold her home to help raise funds, and founded Mecca, opening the first location in Melbourne’s upmarket South Yarra suburb.

Today Jo Horgan and her husband co-owner Peter Wetenhall have built Mecca Brands into a beauty retail powerhouse revolutionizing the Australian market. According to Vogue Business, the company’s sales have quintupled over the past five years, capturing 10% of Australia’s AUD$4.2 billion beauty market, and account for an estimated 25% of the country’s prestige beauty category. IBIS predicts the retailer’s revenue will increase by 10% to $455 million this year, quadrupling the industry’s average growth rate in Australia.

Mecca Brands sells products from 120 brands across 102 standalone stores, and operates three retail concepts: Mecca Cosmetica, the original luxury boutique; Mecca Maxima, a store with an assortment targeted for the younger consumer; and the newest, Mecca, which combines both concepts under one roof.

Read the full story about how Mecca won over the Australian market in Vogue Business.