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NEW YORK — Get ready for the shelf shuffle.
A slew of brands venturing into mass market and drug stores could result in a wave of incremental sales for the channels.
Under its new chief executive officer, Kecia Steelman, Ulta Beauty is going full throttle with fresh merchandise. Industry observers believe the excitement generated will help Ulta Beauty keep up with the gains Sephora has been making in wooing customers, not to mention shopper migration to Amazon and TikTok Shop.
Attracting younger customers is mission critical for Ulta Beauty, which has been the favorite retailer for the past three years based on the well-respected Piper Sandler survey of teens. The recent report, however, showed Sephora knocking off Ulta Beauty’s crown.
The retailer is also gearing up for its entry into Mexico. Jessica Philips, Ulta Beauty’s vice president of merchandising, and Muffy Clince, senior director of brand intelligence and strategic initiatives, scoured the aisles at Cosmoprof North American in Miami for ideas for Mexico as well as emerging brands for its Sparked end-cap that spotlights newness in stores.
Perhaps the biggest news is the launch of Beyoncé’s Cécred into Ulta Beauty. “This transformative hair care brand will be such a phenomenal addition to our assortment,” says Steelman.
Also noteworthy is Rodan+Fields’ entry into physical retail with the rollout to selected Ulta Beauty stores. The brand has been tried and true to its consultants but realized the need to bring the antiaging skin care line to brick-and-mortar.
Ulta Beauty turned to its MUSE Accelerator program to add a spark to its fragrance department with the addition of Octavia Morgan Los Angeles. The brand is founded by the first Black- and woman-owned prestige fragrance brand to launch at the retailer. The brand is presented in Ulta’s Conscious Beauty department.
Ulta Beauty enlarged its K-beauty offering last year and, based on its success, more are coming to shelves. One of the additions is Anua, a trending brand on Amazon.
Ulta Beauty also scored a trio of powerful prestige brands with distribution of Milk Makeup, Farmacy and Tatcha. They are beloved brands that have devoted followers who are expected to reward Ulta Beauty with additional dollars.
Daise is new to not only Ulta Beauty but Target as well. Everything about the Daise fragrance brand speaks to Gen Alpha. The brand says it sells 25,000 units per day.
Target promotes Daise on power aisles along the front of the beauty department along with other new lines at the chain such as Kristin Ess+, an exclusive line extension from the popular brand, and Bubble, which is new to Target.
“We know consumers love shopping beauty at Target because it’s ‘Tarzhay’ at its best: the combination of amazing products and prices you can’t find anywhere else,” says Amanda Nusz, Target’s senior vice president of essentials and beauty. “That’s why our team is incredibly excited to add more than 2,000 new items to our assortment — including science-focused skin care, hair care, nail care, cosmetics and fragrance.”
Beyond Bubble, Kristin Ess+ and Daise, Target has added Prequel, a dermatologist-backed skin care line, Alodia for textured hair, Dashing Diva in nail and several K-beauty brands including Beauty of Joseon, Round Lab, SKIN10004 and Mediheal.
Ulta Beauty and Target also sell Naked Sundays, a fast-growing sun care brand that is stepping up U.S. expansion.
CVS has a bevy of new items, too, including “better for you” offerings such as California Naturals hair care. The brand’s chief shampoo officer is actor Owen Wilson. The retailer also added Fazit, a makeup patch brand that went viral when Taylor Swift donned its Glitter Freckles Makeup Patches at the Super Bowl. That appearance generated $1 million worth of sales in two days. Fazit is also in Target.
Industry insiders are also abuzz over Walmart’s ongoing upgrades in the beauty departments, both online and in stores. In the premium space, Walmart hosts a Premium Beauty Marketplace with brands like Beachwaver and CosRx. For those hunting for value, Walmart is going deeper with such brands as Revolution Beauty.
