THG plc

THG plc, formerly The Hut Group, is a British e-commerce retail company headquartered at Manchester Airport, England. It sells own-brand and third-party cosmetics, dietary supplements and luxury goods online. It provides an end-to-end e-commerce service to third parties through its Ingenuity division.[4] As of 2023, the company operates 16 fulfilment centres worldwide.[6]

For the political party, see Hut Group.

THG plc
FormerlyThe Hut Group
TypePublic limited company
LSE: THG
ISINGB00BMTV7393
IndustryE-commerce
Founded2004 (2004) in Manchester, England
Founders
HeadquartersManchester Airport,
Manchester
,
England
Number of locations
16 fulfilment sites (2023)
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Products
Brands
ServicesIngenuity (e-commerce service)
RevenueIncrease £2,239.23 million (2022)
Decrease £(495.56) million (2022)
Decrease £(539.96) million (2022)
Total assetsDecrease £3,089.16 million (2022)
Total equityDecrease £1,301.74 million (2022)
OwnerMatthew Moulding (25%)
Number of employees
8,239 (2022)
Divisions
  • Beauty
  • Ingenuity
  • Nutrition
Websitethg.com
Footnotes / references
[1][2][3][4][5]

History

The company was founded in Manchester in 2004 with a £500,000 investment by Matt Moulding and John Gallemore. The company sold CDs and DVDs online before creating white-label web stores for large physical retailers, including Asda, Argos Entertainment, Tesco and WHSmith.[7] It operated a warehouse in Guernsey, allowing customers to avoid paying VAT on items priced below £18.[8][9][10]

The creation of the iPhone in 2007 undermined this business model and The Hut Group began acquiring internet retailers and moving them into the group's existing systems and warehouses. The company purchased Zavvi in 2009, Lookfantastic in 2010 and Myprotein in 2011. The group focused on beauty and lifestyle products because of the large margins and potential for international scaling.[7]

Investors included Terry Leahy, a former chief executive of Tesco, and Stuart Rose, the chairman of Ocado. In 2014, the company sold a 19.2% stake to KKR, while Balderton Capital, a technology investor, held an identical stake.[11] BlackRock invested £138 million in February 2016, and Sofina announced an undisclosed equity stake in May 2016.[12][13] In August 2017, Sky News reported that Old Mutual Global Investors had made their first private equity investment in The Hut Group.[14][15] In 2017, The Hut Group was valued at more than £2.5 billion making it one of the most valuable private companies in the United Kingdom, and one of the UK's unicorn companies.[16][17][18]

On 16 September 2020, THG floated on the London Stock Exchange, the largest IPO on the LSE since 2013.[19] The share price rose in value by 25% on the first day of trading, generating £920m for the company and £961m for the company's owners.[20] After the flotation, Moulding received one of the biggest payouts in UK corporate history of at least £830m in shares.[21]

However, by early October 2021, THG's share price had fallen by more than 60% since the start of the year.[22] On 12 October 2021, the company held a capital markets day to unveil its sustainability strategy with investors. Afterwards, shares fell by 35%, wiping £1.8 billion off THG's value.[23]

Following criticism of the company's governance arrangements, Charles Allen replaced Moulding as chairman in March 2022, with Moulding remaining CEO.[24]

In July 2023, THG confirmed the sale of the OnDemand division to its existing leadership team, with financial backing from investment firm Gordon Brothers.[25] The division included the webstores IWOOT, My Geek Box, Pop In A Box, Very Neko and Zavvi.[2] ProBikeKit was sold separately to Fraser Group in the second quarter of 2023. The sales generated £4 million and THG announced that both would continue as clients of Ingenuity.[25] Arrow Films was retained by THG and moved into the Ingenuity division.[1]

Products and services

Beauty

THG Beauty sells own-brand and third party cosmetics, including skincare, haircare, makeup and fragrances.[2]

It both owns brands (Ameliorate, Christophe Robin, ESPA, Eyeko, Grow Gorgeous, Illamasqua, Mio and Perricone MD) and its own web stores (Beauty Expert, Cult Beauty, Dermstore, HQhair, Lookfantastic, Mankind, RY, SkinCareRx and SkinStore). Each web store is localised to different territories, including localised pricing, promotions, content, marketing, influencers, customer service, couriers and payment options. It offers two subscription services through Lookfantastic and Glossybox which are designed to introduce consumers to new THG products.[2]

The division has its own product development and manufacturing facilities for both own-brands and third parties.[2]

Two smaller sections also report under the Beauty division. THG Luxury includes the designer clothing, accessories and homeware web stores, Allsole, Coggles, MyBag and The Hut.[2] THG Experience consists of three event spaces (King Street Townhouse Hotel, Great John Street Hotel, and Hale Country Club & Spa) for hosting influencer and brand events.[1]

Ingenuity

Ingenuity is a service targeted at consumer brand owners seeking to expand or transition from physical retail stores into direct-to-consumer e-commerce in one or more territories.

Ingenuity services[1][26]
Service Branding Division
E-commerce software and mobile app development Core Commerce Platform Technology
Cloud computing Cloud Services Technology
Warehouse management system Voyager Technology
Courier management Delivered Technology
Automated storage and retrieval system FIR/ST Technology
Customer experience Orbit Technology
Order fulfillment Global fulfilment Operations
New product development and manufacturing Manufacturing Operations
Climate action, waste minimisation, recycling, ESG data and reforestation Eco Operations
Marketing Studios Digital
Influencer marketing Society Digital
Language localisation Fluently Digital
Go to market consultancy, co-branding and performance marketing Other Digital

As of 2023, Ingenuity customers include Coca-Cola Europacific, Nestlé, Kraft Heinz, Homebase and Matalan.[1][27]

Nutrition

Myprotein is a bodybuilding supplement brand which has developed into a family of brands; Myvitamins, Myvegan, MyPRO and MP Activewear. Command and BeNu launched in 2021 targeting the nootropics and meal replacement markets respectively. THG also owns Exante, a weight loss brand formerly called IdealShape.[2]

Like the Beauty division, THG Nutrition is vertically integrated with its own localised web stores, product development and manufacturing facilities which also service third parties.[2]

Facilities and locations

THG's head office is at the purpose built ICON Technology Campus at Manchester Airport which opened in 2021. THG Studios, the group's content creation unit, is also based there as well as offices and an automated warehouse which uses technology from AutoStore, a Norwegian robot technology company.[2][28]

In 2020, THG exchanged contracts to build a new 1m sq ft global headquarters at Airport City Manchester to be called THQ. It was due for completion in 2022 but work had not yet begun by October 2022.[29][30]

As of 2023, THG operates 16 fulfilment centres globally.[6] THG Ingenuity Cloud Services also operates over 35 data centres worldwide.[31]

Acquisitions

THG has pursued an acquisition strategy of mainly taking full ownership of e-commerce businesses in a variety of retail sectors and putting the websites onto its proprietary e-commerce platform, Ingenuity.

Acquisitions
Company Year Paid Description Rebranded Division Ref
Zavvi 2009 An online entertainment business that had gone into administration in 2008. Sold (2023) [32][33][25]
IWOOT - I Want One of Those 2010 £0.6M Bought from Findel Group as well as Confetti, a wedding accessories retailer. Sold (2023) [34][35][25]
MyBag 2010 Designer handbags and accessories retailer. Luxury [3]
Lookfantastic.com 2010 £19.4M Bought from the Crown family, the business sold beauty, skincare and haircare products and operated beauty salons in the UK. Beauty [36]
Mankind 2010 £2.5M Bought weeks after purchasing Lookfantastic Group, Mankind is a male-focused online grooming retailer. At the time, it reported £5M annual sales. Beauty [37]
HQhair 2011 Bought out of administration. Beauty [38]
Myprotein 2011 £60M The deal was estimated at £60 million at the time of the announcement. Nutrition [39]
Coggles 2013 Bought from Administration. Originally a predominantly physical retailer based in York, it operated solely online until December 2017 when it launched a new flagship store in Alderley Edge, Cheshire. Luxury [40][41]
Active Nutrition International 2014 A Finnish online sports nutrition retailer, Mass.fi, discontinued in 2017. Discontinued (2017) [42]
ProBikeKit 2013 Online UK cycling equipment and accessories retailer. Sold (2023) [43][25]
Preloved 2014 An online secondhand marketplace founded by Ian Buzer in 1998. It was one of the largest in the UK with over 6 million members. OnDemand [44][45]
Pop In A Box 2015 Online retailer of Funko Pop! Vinyl figures and accessories. Sold (2023) [46][25]
My Geek Box 2015 Subscription box service for collectibles and toys. Sold (2023) [46][25]
Mio Skincare 2015 £3.7M British skincare brand. Beauty [46]
Grow Gorgeous 2016 Canadian haircare brand acquired from Deciem. Beauty [46]
SkinStore 2016 £17.9M An online-only beauty retailer in the USA and Australia, purchased from Walgreens Boots Alliance. Beauty [47][48]
Hale Country Club & Spa 2016 £23.8M The group's first physical retail acquisition. Experience [49][48]
IdealShape 2016 £30.7M A US-based dieting and nutrition brand based in American Fork, Utah. exante Nutrition [50][48]
SkinCareRx 2016 £4.4M US based online skin care product store. Beauty [48]
Hangar Seven 2017 £9.2M A UK-based digital content studio. THG Studios Ingenuity [51][52]
UK2 Group 2017 £58M A web hosting firm with data centres around the world. THG Ingenuity Cloud Services Ingenuity [53][52]
RY 2017 £6.8M An Australian beauty online retailer. RY, which stands for 'Recreate Yourself', was established by James Patten and Brad Carr in 2005. Beauty [54][52]
Glossybox 2017 £17.5M A European provider of beauty box subscription services. It was bought from Rocket Internet and Kinnevik Online. Beauty [55][52]
ESPA 2017 £68.2M A UK firm with a presence in more than 700 spas in 60 countries. Beauty [56][52]
Illamasqua 2017 £16.9M A British make-up brand founded in 2006 by Julian Kynaston. Beauty [57][52]
Eyeko 2018 £16.5M A specialist eye cosmetic brand. Beauty [58][59]
Language Connect 2018 £12.7M An online translation company. THG Fluently Ingenuity [60][59]
Acheson & Acheson 2018 £52.8M A cosmetics developer and manufacturer based in Trowbridge and Frome. Purchase included Acheson's own skincare brand, Ameliorate. THG Labs Beauty [59]
Christophe Robin 2019 £44.7M A French haircare brand established in 1999. Beauty [61][62]
Eclectic Hotel Group 2019 £39.9M The Manchester hotels, King Street Townhouse and Great John Street Hotel. Experience [63][62]
Perricone MD 2020 £51M US prestige skincare brand. Beauty [64][65]
David Berryman Limited 2020 £7.5M A fruit-based ingredients supplier and canned drinks manufacturer based in Luton. Nutrition [66][65]
Claremont Ingredients Limited 2020 £61.1M A manufacturer of liquid and powder flavourings and colourings based in Silverdale, Staffordshire. Nutrition [66][65]
Dermstore 2020 £260.9M US skincare retailer acquired from Target Corporation. Beauty [66][67][2]
Indigo Environmental Limited 2021 £6.3M A recycling facility in Widnes. THG Eco Ingenuity [2]
Arrow Films 2021 £18.5M A British film distributor. The purchase also included The Engine House Media Services, a subtitling and audio description company. Ingenuity [2][1]
More Trees 2021 £3.2M A tree planting service. THG Eco Ingenuity [2]
Private Label Nutrition 2021 £2.7M A vitamin, mineral and supplement manufacturer based in Blackpool. Nutrition [2]
Preston Plastics Limited 2021 £18.9M A plastic recycling facility in Preston, Lancashire. THG Eco Ingenuity [2]
Brighter Foods Limited 2021 £43.8M A manufacturer and developer of cold-pressed and cold form snack bars in Tywyn, Wales. Nutrition [68][2]
Bentley Laboratories LLC 2021 £180M A prestige skincare and haircare manufacturer in Edison, New Jersey. Beauty [69][2]
Morvélo 2021 £0.6M A British cycling apparel brand. Sold (2023) [70][2][25]
Cult Beauty 2021 £291.3M A UK-based online beauty retailer. Beauty [71][2]
Three Counties Reclamation Limited 2021 A plastic recycling facility in Ludlow. THG Eco Ingenuity [2]
City A.M. 2023 A business-focused newspaper distributed in and around London. Ingenuity [72]

Controversies

Litigation

In 2014, The Hut Group sued Oliver Cookson for £15 million, alleging that he and his off-shore trust had overstated the profits of Myprotein prior to its acquisition by The Hut Group in 2011. Cookson counter sued for £12.7 million claiming a breach of warranty and fraudulent misrepresentation. The matter went to the High Court in London in October 2014 and, after a month-long trial, judgement was given by William Blair in November 2014 awarding Cookson an overall net result win of £6.5m in damages.[73][74]

At the costs hearing in December 2014, the judge awarded a payment of just under £7.5 million to be made by The Hut Group to Cookson and the Trust in respect of all of the claims and counterclaims in the action and one third of the costs incurred by Cookson and the Trust.[75]

Cookson and the Trust appealed the court's decision to award The Hut Groups damages.[76] The court of appeal dismissed the appeal on 22 March 2016.[77]

Property ownership

In January 2021, investors raised questions over the company's property deal with its CEO and co-founder, Matt Moulding.[78] Moulding sold himself many of the company's property assets, which he then is reported to rent back to THG for £19m annually.[79][78] In July 2023, it was reported that Moulding would sell the ICON campus, the site of THG's headquarters.[80]

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