November 2023

Ulta Beauty beat Wall Street’s top-line forecasts — though shoppers shied away from prestige in the corporate’s stores as competition heats up the category. Net sales increased 6.4 percent to $2.5 billion within the three months ended Oct. 28, in comparison with $2.3 billion a 12 months earlier, above analysts’ expectations for $2.47 billion. Skincare was once more its fastest-growing category, driven by double-digit growth within the mass and prestige segments. Among the many brands highlighted as growth drivers were Drunk Elephant, Good Molecules, La Roche Posey and Dermalogica. The fragrance and bath category delivered low-double-digit growth, while sales within the makeup category were flat, with midsingle-digit growth in mass makeup offsetting a modest decline in prestige makeup.  “While many mass brands proceed to...