Telegraph forced to apologise over THG allegations

The Telegraph has been forced to apologise after alleging that skincare company Dermalogica was among brands that had been restricting the flow of stock to ecommerce group THG on concerns it was discounting too aggressively to hit sales targets.

The article in question was published on Sunday 20 February and caused THG shares to tumble the following day. THG subsequently refuted the claims made by the Telegraph in a filing to the stock exchange.

THG insisted that Dermalogica - which is owned by Unilever - had not placed and was not looking to place any restrictions on its trading relationship with THG Beauty, including with regard to the supply of stock.

It added: "The Dermalogica and THG Beauty trading relationship is over 10 years in length and whilst it remains very positive the overall revenues generated are de minimis to the group, at circa 0.1% of FY 2021 sales."

THG said also said at the time that it was not aware of any other key supplier to its beauty business who had or was intending to reduce supply or take any similar steps.

In its "corrections and clarifications" on Thursday, the Telegraph acknowledged the statement from THG, removed its online article and said it was "happy to update the record to reflect that we are not aware of any such disputes or restrictions".