Migration from THG to Shopify in 10 weeks: how Code8 went live without a single failure
The client
Code8 is a London-based luxury beauty brand founded in 2019 by Sophia Chikovani. The product range sits at around 40 SKUs across lips, eyes, and face, built on a deliberate "less is more" philosophy. Among physical products, foundation is the bestseller, available in up to 16 shades to serve the full range of skin tones. Formulas are developed using what Code8 calls Kneaded Color Technology, manufactured in Italy and France.
Alongside the product range, Code8 runs a Bespoke Lipstick Bar service. Customers book a 45-minute in-store session with a Colour Maestro. They leave with the product packaged and ready to use, plus the option to reorder the same shade later or give the experience as an e-gift. Sessions are booked and paid for online.
Magecom first partnered with Code8 in 2022. We helped Code8 stabilize their online store, improve its UX and content management, and build a custom skin-tone matching tool that recommends suitable and complementary products. That earlier project is documented separately. This case study covers what came next.
What Magecom delivered here went well beyond just a platform migration: UX/UI design, custom development, data migration, SEO, analytics setup, appointment booking integration, and NetSuite architecture, all within a tight 10-week window.
B2C
Beauty
UK
Business challenges & solutions
Why Code8 needed to replatform
The challenge
Code8 moved away from their Magento setup in 2024 to try a fully managed model with THG (The Hut Group), where website, and marketing were handled under a single contract. The idea was to reduce operational overhead and
grow online sales through THG's existing customer base.
After about a year, the results weren't there. Code8 decided to leave THG and needed to move fast. They had an offline marketing campaign starting across London's buses and tube stations in May 2026. The new site had to be tested and ready in April to receive that ad traffic. There was no soft deadline here.
When Code8 reached out to Magecom, they weren't asking for a new platform. They wanted to know if going back to Magento was an option.
Our solution
Magecom looked at the full setup before making any recommendation. Code8 already used Shopify as their POS system in their boutique. Consolidating the online store on the same platform removed the split between in-store and online operations and simplified their stack considerably. Magecom proposed the complete scope: UX/UI design, Shopify development, full data migration, SEO infrastructure, analytics setup. Code8 agreed and also requested the NetSuite integration to keep online orders, stock levels, and fulfillment data automatically synced with its back-office systems.
"Magecom came through with strategic vision and value to help us meet customer and market demand."
10 weeks, a hard deadline, and Magecom's first Shopify project
The challenge
Code8 needed the new site live on April 23, 2026. The date was fixed by something harder than a preference: they were exiting THG and had an offline marketing campaign in May we mentioned earlier. Kickoff happened in early February. That gave the team roughly 10 weeks.
Our solution
Developers started on available tasks as soon as wireframes were ready, without waiting for a complete design handoff. February was the hardest stretch, March stabilized, and by mid-April the build was complete with more than a week still remaining before the deadline. Code8 used that time to add new product imagery from a new brand shoot and review content.
Commerce features as specific as the products
The challenge
With foundations available in up to 16 shades, shade selection is a real problem for customers who don't know their match. Getting it wrong means a return. Getting it right means a loyal repeat customer. The standard Shopify variant dropdown handles selection, but it doesn't help customers who arrive without knowing what they need.
The Bespoke Lipstick Bar sessions created a different requirement. Paid online, managed through an external scheduling system, with the ability to purchase a gift certificate for the experience alongside a standard booking flow.
Our solution
Magecom built a custom Shade Finder covering foundation, concealer, and beauty balm. It's designed specifically for the customer who isn't sure which shade works for their skin tone. They choose their tone from a visual swatch and the toolreturns matched options with complementary product suggestions.
For the Bespoke Lipstick Bar, Magecom integrated Sesami and connected it to Shopify so customers could book a session, choose a boutique location, pick a time slot, and pay in a single flow. Gift certificates for the experience were set up alongside standard bookings. A cart restriction was built to keep appointment bookings and physical product orders separate, with a clear explanation for customers who try to combine them.
Additional features delivered: a fully custom My Account section with wishlists and a refer-a-friend program with unique discount codes. Magecom also delivered bundle products, Klaviyo for email marketing and reviews, Google Tag Manager integration, Apple Pay and Google Pay, and GDPR data deletion request functionality.
The launch
The challenge
The scope of this project was broad: a replatform, new design, custom features, a full data migration, SEO work, and integrations, all delivered in just 10 weeks. The goal from the start was zero downtime at launch. For Code8, coming off a difficult experience with their previous platform, a clean go-live mattered.
Our solution
Having everything ready to go to production, the site was live within minutes. And the QA engineer worked through the full site. By the time the business hours started for Code8's London team, testing was complete and the site was stable.
No downtime, no rollback, no issues to manage. Alexandra, Code8's Head of Global Business, sent an email a couple days later calling Magecom "the best."
Results
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