The Hut Group (THG), which recently surpassed $1 billion in sales, has signed more than £100 million worth of technology services partnerships with a range of marquee names, including Elemis, PZ Cussons Beauty, Burt’s Bees, Nuxe, By Terry and Revolution Beauty. Under the agreement, THG will help accelerate each brand’s direct-to-consumer (“DTC”) transitions to meet rising online demand.
The partnerships reflect THG's growing prowess with international distribution infrastructure and localized market knowledge. Each brand will access THG Ingenuity’s e-commerce solutions, including a proprietary DTC technology platform and international fulfilment and payments infrastructure.
Brands will also have access to data via THG's analytics division. The company notes, "Beauty industry players specifically will need to lean on innovative tools to capture and convert the attention of existing and new customers in the coming years."
Its emerging tools include the Foundation Finder Technology, which allows consumers to color-match from home.
- THG will launch Elemis through localized DTC offerings across 15 territories in Europe and Asia over the next 12 months. Elemis will benefit from THG’s distribution centres in the United Kingdom, Poland, Australia and Singapore for shorter delivery times.
- THG will help PZ Cussons Beauty launch St Tropez, Sanctuary Spa and Fudge professional, in a period of less than three weeks to increase the company's DTC profile.
- Burt's Bee's European site roll-out will be facilitated by THG, following the U.K. site launch in May 2020. THG claims its trading and performance marketing analytics optimize performance, leading to website sales growth of 146%.
- Nuxe will launch its global DTC online business with THG Ingenuity in the USA, using THG Ingenuity’s reseller sites Skinstore and Lookfantastic. Further sites will be rolled out across America and Asia Pacific.
- Revolution Beauty will unveil its DTC online business for the United States and Australia this year, using THG's services.
- THG Ingenuity is partnering with By Terry on a new brand launch across all end-to-end services. This will include brand development and strategy, content and packaging, DTC and managed services in trade and performance marketing.
“The consumer shift to online continues at pace and a resilient, world class, DTC operation has become a necessity for brands to generate sustainable long-term growth," said Matthew Moulding, founder and CEO of THG. "Through THG Ingenuity’s proprietary technology, brands can leverage our end-to-end capabilities to launch, market and fulfill their product offering at pace and accelerate their international expansion."
He added, "The latest partnership agreements with some of the leading international beauty brands are a testament to the strength of THG Ingenuity’s proven technology services.”
