The Hut Group has been on an acquisition mission to achieve global domination of online beauty and wellness. The Manchester-based company has posted a 24% increase in group sales for the year ended 31 December 2018, growing from £916 million from £736 million in the prior year.

To support growth, The Hut Group’s key priority—continued investment in brands and infrastructure—is helping it achieve its vision. The Hut Group platform now operates across 31 languages and 39 currencies, delivering to 169 countries. To support this growth, the company built a warehouse and manufacturing facility in Wroclaw, Poland which opened in October. In 2019 the retailer’s fulfillment network increased with the addition of smaller fulfillment outlets in Asia, Australasia, India, and two additional locations in the USA.

Matthew Moulding, founder and CEO of The Hut Group, said in a statement, “This has been another landmark year for THG. Our strategic investments to develop our technology, infrastructure, brands and people, have delivered exceptional global growth with 66% of our sales achieved internationally.

“THG’s investments during 2018 have been followed by further investments to date in 2019, resulting in over £850MM ($1.1bn) of investment across Beauty, Technology and Infrastructure since 2016 and the vote on Brexit. This scale of investment propels THG’s proposition across global markets, deepening our strategic advantage and enabling us to digitalise brands at scale.”

Just The Numbers:

• Gross profit rose by 31% to £417 million during 2018 and EBITDA up 31% to £91 million.
• 59% of group sales come from its portfolio of owned brands.
• 66% of group revenues came from international sales.
• Earned about £40 million from licensing its ecommerce and logistics technology, providing services from website design to order fulfillment.
• In 2018 the business added an extra 1,500 jobs, largely in the North West, taking the total worldwide workforce to over 5,000 people.
• Creation of a $1 billion business campus and content creation studio at Manchester Airport will see The Hut Group expand its workforce further in 2019.
• In 2018 the business acquired Language Connect, Eyeko, Ameliorate, and Acheson and Acheson
• Shareholders in the business include Mr Moulding, KKR, BlackRock, Merian, technology investors Balderton and Sofina, along with veteran retail executive Terry Leahy.

Read more in the Financial Times.