This news has been under the radar for a few weeks and I first heard mutterings of this just last week. It was confirmed yesterday that The Hut Group (THG) has acquired Cult Beauty for a snip at £275 million.

THG have a huge portfolio of brands including…. (now) Cult Beauty, ESPA, Dermstore, Perricone MD, Illamasqua, as well as  retailer Lookfantastic which could be their most well-know sector.

Cult Beauty? One of the biggest online beauty shopping destinations in the UK : it’s a HUGE move. Cult Beauty sells a LOT of brands that are not currently on Look Fantastic….around two-thirds. So essentially THG are acquiring a HUGE number of beauty brands to sell. THG are gunning to be one of the biggest online beauty destinations in the world.

Matthew Moulding, executive chairman and chief executive of the Hut Group (THG), said: “Cult Beauty’s first-to-market reputation makes the brand an exciting fit for our beauty division.”

I put the questions out there on my Instagram stories yesterday and honestly : 80% of the feedback was negative. A mix of people not loving the thought of a beauty monopoly and also….a lot of people had seemingly had bad customer service experiences with Look Fantastic which is a real shame. I’ve been a customer for many years and I’ve had no major problems.

I’ve also been a Cult Beauty customer. I love Cult Beauty. I think they do THE best brands and have a really great mixture of the niche and the mainstream. I also think they have an incredible reputation when it comes to customer service

One thing I really hope is that THG really start investing in the behind-the-scenes and into their staff. They obviously need a big investment into their customer service to get everything right and to keep those loyal cult and LF customers. I am not sure if these two mega brands will be combined. I kind of hope they stay separate and I’m not sure why?! I am not sure we are ready for a Cult Fantastic?!

What do you think of this move? Do you think it’ll be good? Much difference?