Ulta Beauty looking better with age

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.



“Strong same store sales were driven by a healthy balance of transaction and ticket growth,” said Mary Dillon, Ulta’s CEO. “Continued strength in prestige and mass color cosmetics, the successful introduction of new products and brands, double digit comps in our salon business, a more effective and well executed marketing strategy, and rapid growth in e-commerce all contributed to our performance.”



Total company sales increased 20.5 percent to $746 million as the addition of 50 new stores during the quarter complemented the same store growth. The company’s e-commerce business grew 46.7 percent and was said to represent 130 basis points of the company’s 9.5 percent comp increase. Meanwhile, the strongest showing was in the company salon business where comps grew 20.5 percent.



Looking ahead, the company is up against a challenging fourth quarter the prior year when comps increased 9.2 percent, but is still forecasting growth in the range of 6 percent to 8 percent. Total sales are expected to range from $997 million to slightly more than $1 billion. By year end, Ulta expects to have increased its store count by 100 units.