Lynette Santhakumar ’19 pitched Ulta Beauty Inc. (ULTA) to the Student Management Investment Fund (SMIF) on March 25, 2019. Ulta Beauty is the largest U.S. beauty retailer and the premier destination for cosmetics, fragrance, skin care products, hair care products, and salon services. Founded in 1990, it offers an “All Things Beauty, All in One Place” experience to customers with over 20,000 products from approximately 500 well-established and emerging beauty brands, which covers any price point. The company operates 1,174 retail stores across 50 states, which are generally 10,000 square feet each, and also distributes products through its website. Their ability to penetrate the market through their focus on personalized omnichannel retailing and their wide variety of product and brands drives customers back into the stores, especially with incentives from their loyalty program of Ultamate Rewards. Additionally, their full range of services that are strategically maintained by the management team will also bring back more customers to the brick-and-mortar stores as the company continues expanding. The class voted to buy 35 shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. at $336.83.
