Ulta Beauty will “pause” expansions of its Target shop-in-shops this year, CEO Kecia Steelman said Thursday. “In joint partnership with Target, we’ve made the decision to really lean into the 600-plus stores that are open this next year and really look at ‘How do we continue to drive efficiencies and leverage the learnings that we’ve had to really unlock value for both of us collectively together?’” Steelman said in response to an analyst’s question at JPMorgan’s 11th Annual Retail Round Up Conference. The move will allow Ulta Beauty and Target to focus on “improving,” and creating “even greater value,” she added, noting Ulta Beauty hasn’t announced plans for the shop-in-shops beyond 2025. Target currently operates 610 Ulta Beauty shop-in-shops, which sell prestige cosmetics in a dedicated 1,000-square-foot Ulta Beauty-branded section within Target. The partnership, first announced in 2020, began with 100 store openings in 2021. In 2022, they expanded the partnership with a goal to reach 800 locations. They’ve opened at least 100 every year since, including 101 last year. While then-CEO Dave Kimbell ended Ulta Beauty’s Q4 2023 earnings call looking ahead to future shop-in-shop expansions, on its Q4 2024 call last month, Steelman, on her first call as CEO, made no forward-looking statements about the partnership. Keep reading here.—EC |