It’s hard not to compare Ulta to Sephora, and the two are really yin and yang to each other. One Ulta executive I spoke to jokingly referred to Sephora as “our dark and moody sister competitor.” Haus says, “[Customers] feel like our store layout and our associates are super approachable,” maybe more so than at Sephora, whose parent company, LVMH, is based in Paris and is known for its luxury brands. Ulta is all about embracing the high-low mix.
— Read more at Ulta Doesn’t Want to Be Sephora at Yahoo News.
The situation puts high-end cosmetic brands in a conundrum. Many are becoming increasingly dependent on Sephora for sales growth, but are faced with shrinking shelf space at the retailer as LVMH makes room for its own new brands. That is pressuring them to find alternative distribution channels. To sell at Sephora, which has more than 2,300 stores around the world, brands can pay more than 60% from each sale, a higher rate than at most department stores and specialty retailers, according to people familiar with the matter, although many department stores layer on separate charges for labor and other costs.
— Read more at As Sephora Adds Products, Rivalry Heats Up at Its Stores at MorningStar.
I don’t often shop at the mall anymore, but when I do I always stop in at Ulta or Sephora, whichever happens to be nearby. Sephora is often busy and crowded but is enjoyable. I look forward to seeing a few special SAs who are genuinely interesting to talk to and are interested in their customers.
I get a kick out of the Ulta at a slightly down-market mall near me. The shelves are often cluttered and dusty, and the perfume department has testers for scents that are long discontinued. It’s great though because I can almost always find whatever I’m looking for. That store reminds me (in a good way!) of my first forays as a tween into the cosmetics and fragrances at the Thrifty Drug Store in my old neighborhood.
I am not a real beauty shopper — I buy all my beauty stuff online. So when I’m in Ulta or Sephora, it’s as a perfume shopper, and I don’t think I’m alone in that category in hating Ulta (not always a tester, samples are rare) and loving Sephora (always a tester, always a sample).
But as department stores change and shrink, going to be interesting to see what happens to the traditional brands like Estee Lauder that don’t seem a natural fit for either Ulta or Sephora. They need a “third way”!
Both stores used to be at the nearest mall, over an hour drive, and I don’t care for either. Visiting my best friend – the city mouse to my country mouse – has been the best Sephora experience because my friend is fun and the store is bigger and better. Then my little town actually got an Ulta and I’m really enjoying it. Obviously not for perfume, totally agree, Robin, but I’m rediscovering makeup and getting my eyebrows done on the regular at age 57 which is fun. Their point system is generous and they’re good with freebies and hey, they carry Nars now. My perfume dollars are going to indies these days anyway.
I can completely see the appeal of Ulta. When I did more in-person beauty & haircare shopping, I went there regularly. For perfume, I find the store infuriating!
As EL continues to buy up more brands, I wonder if they’ll try their own chain of stores.
That’s a really interesting idea.
People forget that Sephora is LVMH! Seems to me like you could do something in-between Ulta and Sephora — a middle sister, as it were. Whether they (EL) would know how to do it is another matter.