newsletter
Curated for you
Edition no
04
Founder's note A LOT has changed in the Cult Beauty world since my last update. We have, of course, joined THG Beauty and with that comes a rapid-fire series of transformations - new faces, systems, processes, challenges and opportunities – at the busiest time of our already busy calendar. The build-up to peak is almost as intense as the peak itself, and this year brings completely unchartered territory with what will be a ‘box-fresh’ new platform. The experience you will all gain from being part of this integration is unprecedented, and while tough, it will greatly enhance your already extensive mastery of the Ecommerce discipline. I’d like to thank you all for your patience and engagement with senior leadership as we figure out the next steps, while the path is being built in front of us. I am pleased to say that we will be able to announce future structure plans imminently. What does this re-platform mean? Well, a WMS for one - or as Steve explained it to me, “that’s a Warehouse Management System, we will beep the products in like the supermarket Lex 😉”. KIT will be replaced with TEEPEE as our new content management system, we will gain a fully responsive and accessible site, making us much more inclusive for customers with visual impairments... and in the not-toodistant future **Drum roll please** an APP - to mention just a few improvements. Delivery in this short time will mean that some things will not be quite the same from day one, but this will be phase 1 of many iterations to create a Cult Beauty site that is not only beautiful and innovative but also stable and efficient to use and run. It’s a lot of change to contend with, and I have never been prouder of you for pulling together and working with the wider THG teams to make this happen. October is packed to the rafters, not just with ‘peak prep’ but internal initiatives too. The CULTure Collective have been busy organising events from a Menopause workshop to go hand in hand with our external campaign, a mental health webinar to encourage us all to take time for us, especially as things heat up at work AND events to celebrate Black History Month. Phew! Hold on to your hats, people. It’s going to be a bustling October. With that, let’s get right into it…
Lex
An update from: Mental Health First Aiders “Here we are, smiling and waving into the void over the airwaves via light and sound to you once more (that’s broad physics...right?). We hope you’re coping, thriving, feelin’ alive-ing. For the new starters, allow us to introduce ourselves; we are a small team of trained Mental Health First Aiders walking among you (figuratively speaking) that are here to listen if you’d like to chat about anything and everything relating to your mental health. Whether it be a casual chat on a seemingly dim day, in the hopes of brightening your spirits, or you’re looking for some guidance on what you can do to address mental health issues please don’t hesitate to reach out. We can be contacted individually or as a collective at the email address below. Everything discussed is confidential and we’re happy to accommodate a time/ place/ platform that suits you. In the meantime, we wanted to share some links that you might find interesting or helpful... https://www.anxiousasanything.co.uk/ - suggestions on podcasts, apps, books on anything and everything relating to anxiety and mental health. https://clementineapp.com/ - a hypnotherapy app for sleep, confidence and anxiety. https://www.helponymous.com/ - this is a subscription app but does have free functions, like rate your day, then say why, then you can share more. It gives you the option to make friends with other people’s avatars and start a direct message chat. Sharing your day and feelings anonymously. SURVEY What would you like to see from the Mental Health First Aider Team? Let us know via this survey A reminder of your Mental Health First Aiders... Abbey Webb, Alicia Hickey, Aziz Baig, Bessie Hitcham, Emma Ezeh, Jodi Taylor Dunne, Lydia Ball, Zsanett Horvath Our group email: mentalhealthfirstaiders@cultbeauty.co.uk
Spotlight on... Rachel Horsefield Rachel is CEO of Beauty at THG. THG’s Beauty division retails 1,000+ brands across its leading websites, own brands, and subscription box businesses. All are underpinned by world-class manufacturing facilities and powered by THG Ingenuity. CB: How did you get started in your career? RH: I did a two-year work placement at Boots HQ where I tried different parts of retail before finding beauty and ecomm and I never looked back! CB: What has been your proudest career moment? RH: When I joined THG nine years ago we had 12 people in the beauty team and a tiny little website nobody had heard of. I took cream pies to the face for years from some of the biggest beauty houses when asking them to work with us online. Last week we announced our plans to IPO our beauty division which is home to over 1,000 of the worlds most popular beauty brands, we have over 500 staff across the globe and we’re within touching distance of being the world's No1 beauty player – so my proudest moment – it's yet to come 😊 CB: Who has been / is your biggest mentor? RH: My mum is my biggest mentor. She doesn’t really understand my job or what I do but she has complete belief that I can do anything I put my mind to, so if I turned up tomorrow and told her I was going to build a beauty store on the moon she’d just answer “Of course you are darling” CB: Tell us something most people don’t know about you? RH: I’m a published author CB: How do you make sure you stand out from the crowd? RH: I’m an avid reader, at least 52 books a year. I’ll read about anything because it opens the mind and you need imagination to be able to think BIG.
CB: If you could give one piece of professional advice to someone, what would it be? RH: What makes you different is your superpower – use it! You were born to stand out!
CB: What’s the best and hardest thing about your job? RH: The people – best and hardest – I work with some insanely talented individuals and I feel blessed every day but that’s the challenge with diamonds, they’re hard to find! CB: How do you switch off after a difficult day? RH: I love to Peloton and blow off some steam or if I’m celebrating it's with my family and little fur baby Poppy CB: Dessert island beauty must-have? RH: I'm ginger, so a brow pencil (probably from ABH) or I’ll have no brows and no expression haha CB: Which five people (dead or alive) would you have at your dinner party? RH: Jeff Bezos – legend – I’d like to know everything in his mind! The Queen – because what does she carry in that little black bag? Kris Jenner – like her or hate her, she’s a boss and she’s never had a book out so I feel compelled to learn more! David Attenborough – does he need an explanation? I feel like having him and Jeff at the same table could do great things for our planet, and throw in the PR power that is Kris and before you know it I’ve had a dinner party that saved the planet! Feels like it could get heavy so let's inject some humour with Robin Williams
Initiatives Update A few weeks ago we put forward the following initiatives for approval, their current status is below: Cyber Boosts budget: In progress MHFA mental health talks: Approved/in progress Recognition Praise board: In progress Birthday day off: In progress- Under review Departmental event budget: In progress -Under review For more information on these initiatives please feel free to reach out to your CULTure Co representative.
What's coming up? Black History Month All October Black History Month has been marked in the UK for more than 30 years and celebrates key figures and events throughout history - highlighting the achievements and contributions of the Black community over the years. To kick things off, Fiona Daniel will be hosting a webinar live from Cult Beauty HQ on 28th September giving us an interactive talk on black beauty through the ages. There will also be a lunch later in the month to celebrate culturally black food at both HQ & the DC. See the calendar below for dates. For more info on Black History Month 2021, visit www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk/black-history-month-2021/
World Mental Health Day Sunday 10th October
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recognises World Mental Health Day every year on 10th October, with the objective of raising awareness of mental health issues around the world and to mobilize efforts in support of mental health. This year's theme is Mental Health for all: Let's Make it a Reality.
To celebrate, our Mental Health First Aid team are organising a wellbeing workshop in October, with more to follow between Cyber and January. Keep your eyes peeled for more info on this, and don't forget to fill in the survey to vote for the wellbeing workshops you'd like to see!
For more info on World Mental Health Day, visit: www.mentalhealth.org.uk/campaigns/world-mental-health-day
World Menopause Day Monday 18th October With the majority of our customer base as well as our team being made up of women or those identifying as such menopause is an important area of focus for Cult Beauty. This year we will be campaigning to break down the taboo and encourage vital conversations around a fundamental and transformational stage in women's lives with internal and external activations such as: Concierge team menopause training Company-wide menopause webinars Rolling out a reproductive cycle workplace policy covering all stages of the reproductive cycle to include menopause. Externally there will be workshops educating and informing on menopause, a LIVE podcast with Lex and Trish & Lorraine from postcards from mid-life and not least teaming up with MP Carolyn Harris in writing an open letter to the government and picketing parliament as well as social activations across all our channels. Check out the campaign overview here.
An update from: Social & Charity Committee We would love to introduce everyone to our two newest members: Talia from Merchandising and Kimi from Cult Concierge. We are so excited to have some extra brain power to join our original members Olivia, Charlotte and Mariel as we plan some exciting activities and fundraisers to round off the year. As we look to support our final charity of the year, we are so grateful to everyone who has donated and we are extremely proud of the amazing support we have given to our two charities so far, with an astounding: £15,563 going to MIND and £21,000 to The Survivor’s Trust
A reminder of the amazing work your donations will go towards supporting:
Every year, one in four of us will experience a mental health problem. But hundreds of thousands of people are still struggling. MIND believe no one should have to face a mental health problem alone. They’ll listen, give you support and advice, and fight your corner. They provide help and support directly to those who need it most. There's a network of around 125 local Minds across England and Wales that offer specialised support and care based on the needs of the communities they support.
Every five minutes in the UK someone is raped. One in four women and one in six men have experienced sexual violence. 15% of girls and 5% of boys have experienced sexual violence by the time they are sixteen. Survivors Trust have 124 member agencies based in the UK and Ireland providing information, advice, support and therapy to over 80,000 individual survivors each year. Their services work with victims and survivors of all ages, all genders and of all forms of sexual violence, sexual abuse and sexual exploitation, including support for partners and family members.
Calendar of Events
Key dates for all the internal and external events coming up
Look out for announcements and events to get involved in as we mark Cyber week a little more extravagantly this year. There will be group-level events and our own Cult team boosters to see us through the busiest week of the year!
Join us! We are looking for a new member of the team to join us as the Communications Lead. You will be leading the collation and design of this very newsletter as well as being a valuable member of the team, ensuring you represent your business area and feed updates and information both into the CULTure Collective and into your team. Please email info.culturecollective@cultbeauty.co.uk to register your interest.
Get in touch You can contact your team representative directly by email, have a call, chat or you can email the group on: Info.culturecollective@cultbeauty.co.uk
A reminder of your reps...
BUYING Bessie ( Priority Action Lead) Hayley (Treasurer) CONTENT + PERFORMANCE MARKETING Vicky (Deputy Co-Chair) Vic (Priority Action Lead) Lydia ( Priority Action Lead) Korede (Priority Action Lead) CUSTOMER OPERATIONS Wonu (Priority Action Lead) CUSTOMER OPERATIONS + CULT CONCIERGE Marta (Events Lead)
CUSTOMER SERVICE Iram (Events Lead) FINANCE + ALL Alicia (Chair) MERCHANDISING Janine (Secretary) TECH + CRM Denise (Deputy Co-Chair)