The US inflation rate is higher than Australia’s, but cost of living pressures haven’t prevented American beauty lovers from buying up big.
Ulta Beauty, the largest specialist beauty chain in the US, has exceeded analysts’ expectations for its third quarter, with net sales of US$2.3 billion – a surge of 17.2 per cent over the same period in 2021.
Sales were especially strong over the Thanksgiving Holiday and Cyber Week as beauty sales were buoyed by the launch of new brands and product innovations.
Ulta Beauty’s colour cosmetics sales jumped 44 per cent in Q3. Double digit growth was also delivered by hair care (+21%), skincare (+16%) and fragrance (+12%).
Drunk Elephant, Supergoop!, Grand Molecules, The Ordinary, Hero Cosmetics and La Roche-Posay were the standout brands for skincare in the third quarter. Fenty Beauty and Ariana Grande’s R.E.M Beauty were major drivers for makeup sales, Ulta Beauty’s biggest category.
Amidst a challenging macro environment, the Ulta Beauty team delivered yet another outstanding quarter, with strong top and bottom-line results and growth across all major categories and channels, said Dave Kimbell, CEO of Ulta Beauty.
“Our third-quarter results reflect the sustained resilience of the beauty category and the strong emotional connection and loyalty we have cultivated with our guests.
“While it’s hard to know with certainty if we are starting to see consumers trade down – as the only beauty retailer that offers a wide variety of prices from entry-level mass to high-end luxury and everything in between, Ulta Beauty is uniquely positioned to capture any consumer shifts within price points in the beauty category.”
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