Retail > Brick and Mortar | Global Cosmetic Industry

The retailer also demonstrated improving profitability, with gross margin expanding to 40.1% from 39.1% a year ago, reflecting stronger merchandise margins and lower inventory shrink.

9 Drivers of Ulta’s Q1 Growth (and a Times Square Flagship Teaser)

Growth was broad-based across channels and categories, with gains driven by both higher spending per visit and increased shopper traffic.

Take control of your secondary packaging. Match your brand aesthetic.

Packaging speaks volumes about a brand’s ethos, quality and commitment to sustainability. Having the NEENAH® Folding Board sample book in hand helps bridge the gap between a creative vision and real-world production.

Within the company’s operating segments, Sally Beauty Supply delivered the strongest performance. Segment sales increased 4.1% to $521.2 million, while comparable sales rose 2.5%, reversing declines seen a year earlier.

Sally Beauty Holdings Leans Into Digital Momentum as Q2 Sales, Margins and EPS Rise

The company said second-quarter results reflected “solid execution and the resilience of our operating model amid a dynamic macroeconomic environment."

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Beyond Time: Intelligent Longevity for Skin and Hair

Beyond Time: Intelligent Longevity for Skin and Hair

Executives point to strong alignment between Rhode’s engagement-driven strategy and Sephora’s global platform.

Rhode Goes Pan-European: Sephora Expansion Marks Record-Breaking Next Chapter in Global Retail Push

The 2026 Cosmoprof & Cosmopack Awards in Bologna once again spotlighted the most forward-thinking beauty innovations worldwide, with winners spanning ingredients, formulation, packaging, devices, and finished products.

Cosmoprof Awards 2026: Where Beauty Innovation Meets System-Level Sustainability

La Roche Posay Announces Retail Expansion

La Roche-Posay Expansion Retail for Access to Advanced Dermatological Skincare with In-Store Launch at Walmart Nationwide

The partnership marks a pivotal scaling moment for Erly, which has built early traction through founder-led activations, boutique distribution and strong repeat purchase rates in its first year on the market.

Erly Skincare Lands at Ulta Beauty, Scaling Barrier-First Simplicity Nationwide

For Ulta Beauty, the addition underscores a broader merchandising direction: clinically credible brands that balance efficacy with ease of use.

As trend cycles accelerate, assortments sprawl and omnichannel complexity becomes the norm, AI is emerging as a core operating lever, not a shiny experiment.

2026: The Year AI Decides Beauty’s Winners and Losers

"Leaders must view AI as a core operating capability for managing trend volatility, not a digital innovation project."

AI-Inspired Beauty: Accelerating Innovation Through Intelligence

AI-Inspired Beauty: Accelerating Innovation Through Intelligence

Discover how AI is transforming cosmetic innovation. Grant Industries’ AI-Inspired Beauty Formulary explores data-driven formulation strategies, advanced ingredient technologies, and new pathways to accelerate product development.

Cloud Cafe Ulta Beauty Launch 2026

Clöud Café Launches as the First-Ever Coffee Brand Within Wellness by Ulta Beauty

The launch signifies a broader industry pivot in how retailers are approaching the the pressing intersection of wellness and beauty.

Customers who link their Sephora Beauty Insider accounts will receive personalized advice and can utilize member benefits, including loyalty rewards and free shipping promotions.

Beauty Retail Heats Up: Sephora Expands Into the 'Intelligent Channel' of ChatGPT as Ulta Beauty Launches in TikTok Shop

Sephora shoppers can prompt specific beauty needs—such as "help me find a foundation for dry skin."

The company has appointed Gaeun Kwon as its first U.S. CEO, reflecting an effort to embed on-the-ground leadership as Olive Young works to translate its Korea-proven retail model for American consumers.

Olive Young Builds U.S. Muscle with CEO and Logistics Hub

The company aims to improve speed to shelf as competition intensifies around K-beauty’s rapid product cycles and growing U.S. demand.

Prestige beauty outperformed the market, despite average price increases, buoyed by emotionally driven, want-based shoppers.

Beauty Holds the Line as Resilient US Consumers Keep Spending

“There is a growing divide between industries where consumers feel value aligns with pricing and those where elevated costs are dampening demand.”

Hanskin is currently transitioning from an Amazon-dominant strategy to a 1,400-store launch at Ulta Beauty.

K-Beauty’s New High-Speed Pipeline to North American Beauty Enthusiasts

Recent launches and expansions reflect a broader trend of professionalizing K-beauty, moving away from whimsical packaging toward clinically proven, microbiome-focused, and biotech-driven solutions.

Each circuit in the U.S. federal court system has its own version of the infringement test, but in essence, they all look at similar factors: (1) the strength of the plaintiff’s trademark or trade dress, (2) the similarity of the goods, (3) the similarity of the marks or designs, (4) evidence of any actual confusion, (5) the similarity of marketing channels, (6) the sophistication of the purchasers or the level of care they likely use, (7) the defendant’s intent, and (8) the likelihood of expansion of the product lines.

Dupe Culture Meets the Courtroom

What the Benefit vs. e.l.f. mascara ruling reveals about the legal limits of beauty dupes.

Cymbiotika has developed a following around its liposomal delivery systems, designed to enhance nutrient absorption and bioavailability.

Ulta Beauty Pushes Deeper Into Wellness With Cymbiotika

In Q4 fiscal 2025, skin care and wellness grew to 24% of Ulta results, per the company.

Despite this top-line success, fourth-quarter operating income as a percentage of sales moderated to 12.2% from 14.8% the prior year, reflecting heavy strategic enterprise investments, higher advertising spend, and increased incentive compensation.

Ulta Beauty Unleashed: Record Revenue and a High-Stakes 2026 Roadmap

For fiscal 2026, Ulta Beauty issued robust guidance, forecasting net sales growth of 6.0% to 7.0% and comparable sales growth of 2.5% to 3.5%.

DUA, a skin care line created by Dua Lipa and Augustinus Bader Science, targets consumers on the upward arm of the K, particularly those who continue to invest in high-performance, science-led skin care as a form of long-term self-maintenance rather than discretionary luxury.

The K-shaped Skin Care Market Playbook

As inflation fatigue, selective splurging and value-conscious upgrading converge, American beauty shoppers are no longer trading strictly up or down.