According to the Retail Week, THG Beauty, owner and operator of three major online beauty retailers: LOOKFANTASTIC, Cult Beauty, and Dermstore, has revealed plans to set up an AI Academy, an initiative intended to strengthen its position as a leading “digital-first” beauty retailer. The announcement comes as part of a larger strategic push by the company to build stronger digital capabilities across the business.
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GLOAccording to the Retail Week, THG Beauty, owner and operator of three major online beauty retailers: LOOKFANTASTIC, Cult Beauty, and Dermstore, has revealed plans to set up an AI Academy, an initiative intended to strengthen its position as a leading “digital-first” beauty retailer. The announcement comes as part of a larger strategic push by the company to build stronger digital capabilities across the business.
What Is the AI Academy
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The AI Academy is envisioned as a training and development arm within THG Beauty aimed at helping employees improve their skills in artificial intelligence, data science, machine learning, and related technologies.
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Through the Academy, THG intends to embed AI more deeply into various parts of its operations—everything from marketing, supply chain, product development, and customer experience—to ensure the company can innovate faster and more intelligently.
Why THG Is Doing This
THG’s move reflects its ambition to operate as a digitally native, “digital-first” retailer. Key elements of what this means for THG:
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Speed and agility: Building in-house AI expertise should allow faster responses to consumer trends, more efficient decision-making, and quicker innovation.
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Data leverage: With its portfolio of online beauty retailers (LOOKFANTASTIC, Cult Beauty, Dermstore) and owned brands, THG already has large volumes of customer, product, and market data. The AI Academy will help leverage that data more effectively.
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Competitive differentiation: In online beauty, personalization, predictive demand forecasting, inventory optimization, and better digital customer engagement are increasingly important. By investing in AI competencies, THG hopes to stay ahead of rivals.
How It Plays Into THG Beauty’s Broader Strategy
THG Beauty’s wider corporate strategy already emphasises digital excellence. Some relevant points:
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THG Beauty owns and operates major online beauty retailers such as LOOKFANTASTIC, Cult Beauty, and Dermstore.
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It aims to combine its owned brands and its marketplace of third-party beauty brands, leveraging its manufacturing, product development, and brand partnerships to differentiate.
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Behind THG Beauty is THG plc, which in early 2025 completed the demerger of its technology and logistics arm, Ingenuity, making that division into a separate entity. This move suggests THG Beauty is focused on sharpening its core retail, brand, and beauty operations.
Challenges and Considerations
While the AI Academy is a promising step, there are several challenges THG will need to manage:
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Talent and skills gap: AI and machine learning skills are in high demand globally. Recruiting, training, and retaining skilled staff will be critical.
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Integration & ROI: It’s one thing to build AI models; it’s another to deploy them in ways that measurably improve customer experience, operations, and margins. Ensuring that AI initiatives deliver returns will be essential.
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Ethics, privacy, and trust: Handling customer data responsibly, avoiding bias in automated decisions, and being transparent will matter, particularly in beauty and retail sectors.
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Competition: Other beauty retailers and tech-savvy consumer brands are also investing heavily in AI, personalization, and digital marketing. THG will need to ensure its investments are distinctive and not easily replicated.
Outlook
The launch of the AI Academy marks a concrete step in THG Beauty’s evolution. It signals a recognition that digital transformation isn’t just about technology, but about people and skills. If successful, the initiative could enable THG to improve speed, innovation, and customer experience—helping it consolidate its position in online beauty retail.
Moving forward, what to watch for:
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How quickly the AI Academy becomes operational (timelines, scale, staffing).
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Early results: improvements in metrics like customer engagement, conversion, inventory management, and efficiency.
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Whether there are public-facing applications of AI (e.g. personalization of product suggestions, predictive trends) that mark visible change for consumers.
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How THG balances this investment with other financial pressures (costs of AI R&D, competition, market growth).
Source: THG
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