NEW YORK — Ulta Beauty busted through all expectations with sales results for the seven-week holiday period from Nov. 13 to Dec. 31, rising 24.4 percent to net sales of $386 million. Comparable-store sales for the 2011 holiday period rose an impressive 12.6 percent, as compared to 9.5 percent during the same time frame in the prior year. That outpaces most retailers who pegged sales gains for Yule 2011 between 4 percent to 6 percent over Yule 2010.
Ulta credits its holiday marketing initiatives, which kicked off to correspond with the sales period, and included an emphasis on more than just traditional gifts.
“I think promotions at Ulta went pretty well as they had makeup and skin care specials,” said Allan Mottus, industry consultant.
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Chuck Rubin, Ulta’s president and chief executive officer, stated: “We believe, once again, that we gained market share across our major categories driven by our consistent ability to capitalize on current trends and introduce newness, elevate our guest experience with exciting in-store events and traffic-driving communications to our loyal customer base. This combined with our great value proposition and strong customer service led to another successful holiday season. As a result of our better-than-expected performance, we have raised our fourth-quarter outlook and now expect to report full-year fiscal 2011 diluted earnings per share in a range of $1.84 to $1.85, an increase of approximately 59 percent compared to fiscal year 2010.”