Ulta Beauty

Bolingbrook, Ill. - For fast-growing retailer Ulta Beauty, having an omnichannel presence does not just mean selling products across multiple touch-points. As Ulta Beauty executives explained during a presentation at the recent Oracle Industry Connect 2015 conference, the retailer uses an Oracle Retail technology platform to support a range of omnichannel experiences that engage customers at a highly personal level.

Last week, Oracle hosted its second annual Oracle Industry Connect conference in Washington, D.C. This seat of world power was an appropriate setting for a two-day summit explaining how retailers can use technology to obtain better control of every aspect of their enterprises.

Here are three key lessons attendees gleaned from Oracle Industry Connect:

Customers are the Best Salespeople

St. Clairsville, Ohio -- Ulta Beauty and Sincerely Yogurt will both open at Ohio Valley Mall this year. Sincerely Yogurt will debut first, opening a 1,275-sq.-ft. location late spring 2015. Ulta Beauty will open a 9,700-sq.-ft. store near Sears by early fall.  The construction of the new Ulta will introduce a new, exterior doorway providing direct access from the mall parking area.

Owned by Cafaro Company, the recently renovated Ohio Valley Mall is located on I-70, Exit 218-Mall Road, in St. Clairsville, Ohio.  
 

Bolingbrook, Ill. -- Ulta Beauty is running strong. On Thursday, the fast-growing beauty products and services retailer posted fourth quarter profit and revenue that topped Wall Street expectations, including an 11.1% jump in same-store sales. It also announced plans for 100 net new stores in fiscal 2015, for a 13% increase in total square footage.

Ulta reported net earnings of $87.3 million for the quarter ended January 31, up 21.6% from $70.7 million in the year-ago period.

Faced with dwindling expansion opportunities for traditional department stores, Macy is looking to significantly grow standalone beauty stores following its recently completed acquisition of the 60 unit specialty beauty retailer Bluemercury.

Cape Coral, Fla. -- Stiles Realty announced 57,829 sq. ft. of leasing activity at Coralwood Center, one of the largest power centers in Cape Coral, Florida. HomeGoods and Ulta signed new leases totaling 33,819 sq. ft. in fourth quarter 2014. At the same time, anchor tenant Bealls Outlet has signed a lease to expand into a new 24,010-sq.-ft. store, increasing the center's occupancy to 81%.

Long Beach, Calif. -- Nordstrom, Inc. announced plans to open a Nordstrom Rack at Marina Pacifica Mall in Long Beach, California. The 24,000-sq.-ft. store is scheduled to open in fall 2015. The property is managed by NewMark Merrill Companies.

The new Nordstrom Rack will occupy a former Loehmann's space and join a mix of tenants including Best Buy, ULTA Beauty, Pier 1 Imports, AMC Theaters, Barnes & Noble, Sports Authority and Ralphs.

Janesville, Wisconsin - CBL & Associates Properties announced that DICK'S Sporting Goods and ULTA Beauty are coming to Janesville Mall in Janesville, Wisconsin. The two new stores will be situated in the former JC Penney location. Construction is expected to begin in January with the grand opening for both stores scheduled for fall 2015.  

Boilignbrook, Ill. — Ulta Beauty reported fiscal results for the third quarter of fiscal 2014 that looked pretty darned good. Net income rose 30% to $59.1 million compared to $45.4 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2013, with lower expenses helping drive up profit.

The company said it will have opened 100 new stores in all of fiscal 2014 and remodeled another 12.

With 765 stores now in operation, Ulta Beauty’s unique value proposition continues to resonate strongly with shoppers.

The more recent evidence could be seen in the company’s third quarter results which saw same stores sales accelerate 9.5 percent from a prior year gain of 6.8 percent.