THG is doubling down and focusing on growth instead of being "distracted" by outside opinion and movements in the stock market, one of its major bosses has said.
Vivek Ganotra, who has been chief executive of THG Ingenuity since June last year, added that while the group has an active investor base with strong convictions over what it should be doing, THG's bosses are clear about its direction of travel.
Mr Ganotra also insisted that the sharp fall in THG's share price following the publication of its interim results would not lead to a sudden change of direction and would only encourage the company to double down on its current plans for growth.
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The CEO was speaking to BusinessLive at THG's Future of Commerce event at its headquarters near Manchester Airport. The two-day gathering featured speakers such as Gary Neville and Jake Humphrey.
It also followed THG's half-year results which were published on Thursday, September 14, which led to over £240m being wiped off its value as its share price was slashed.
But while Ingenuity's divisional turnover was cut by almost 15%, Mr Ganotra said that the long-term decisions that he and his team have made will stand it in good stead going forward.
Mr Ganotra said: "The market remains challenging but what I feel really positive about is that we're in a strong position to get our fair share of the market. In each of our categories we're winning new business. The key is to be systematic and disciplined in our execution."
He also pointed to Ingenuity's recent pivot to focusing more on larger and complex enterprise clients which will help drive its profitability. In the half-year results, group CEO Matthew Moulding praised the move and said the division had won some "key client wins" and built up a "strong pipeline".
The CEO added: "The key question is how to drive profit online. It's a simple but key exam question. The core challenge that every retailer and consumer brand is facing post-Covid is the challenging economics that drive profit and growth online.
"I've used this Masterchef analogy before, that as a Masterchef you've got lots of ingredients, some fresh, some bad, but you've got to use your experience to work out what your consumer really needs and what your brand's core message is.
"When I joined THG, my sense after being a customer on the other side, was that THG Ingenuity was the group's best-kept secret. We've been in this business for almost 20 years and you learn a lot from that journey.
"Ingenuity fundamentally is the fabric of everything that we do and we're effectively exposing that to the wider world. We have a lot to offer in terms of lessons that we learnt from our own mistakes.
"Coming out of Covid we really wanted to make sure that we're focused on the right type of companies who are really committed to a journey online and that they're right in terms of affordably and marketing spend."
THG is a company that many investors have strong opinions about and its activities are quick to generate headlines. It has also attracted the interest of activist shareholders like Kelso Group which regularly publishes its thoughts on THG's financial performance and what its investors think the group should do next.
On those relationships, Mr Ganotra said: "We have a very active dialogue with our investor base. We have a very active investor base which has stayed with us for a very long time and has a lot of conviction over our business. My view is that we need to double down, stay on track and take it one quarter at a time."
One of the reasons why THG remains in the news is the persona of chief executive and co-founder Matthew Moulding. Through long-winded statements on social media, the entrepreneur regularly sets out what he sees as the positives of the group as well as throwing out barbs about those who may hold different opinions.
But undoubtedly, what Mr Moulding has built over the last two decades has turned out to be hugely successful and a major player in the North West economy.
When asked whether Mr Moulding's achievements have been underrated, Mr Ganotra said: "My view is that Matt is an amazing entrepreneur. He's the reason I joined THG and I've learnt so much from him. Everyone in the North West should be proud of what he has achieved."
