US retailer Ulta Beauty has promoted Kecia Steelman to president and CEO, effective immediately. She replaces Dave Kimbell, who is retiring after an 11-year tenure. He is also stepping down from the company’s board of directors, but will stay on as an advisor to Ulta Beauty through 28 June.
“Serving as CEO of Ulta Beauty has been the highlight of my career, and I am proud to have led and worked alongside so many associates who are passionate about delivering great experiences for our guests,” said Kimbell in a statement. “Kecia is a strategic leader with a proven record of driving operational excellence and creating exceptional guest experiences while fostering a caring and inclusive culture. I have every confidence she will expand Ulta Beauty’s leadership in beauty and wellness.”
Steelman has worked at Ulta since 2014, when she joined as SVP of store operations. She became chief store operations officer a year later. In 2023, she was promoted to president and COO, overseeing the retailer’s corporate strategy, operations and supply chain. Before joining Ulta, Steelman worked at companies including Family Dollar, Home Depot and Target.
Among her achievements at Ulta, Steelman brokered the retailer’s partnership with Target in 2022, introducing premium beauty brands such as Ouai haircare, Fenty Beauty and The Ordinary to the value retail chain. Ulta shop-in-shops are now located in 500 Target stores across the US. She also steered the retailer’s expansion into Mexico through a joint venture with global brand operator Axo, launching this year.
“[Steelman] has been instrumental in developing our recently refreshed strategic framework, and we are confident that she is the right person to lead Ulta Beauty forward,” said Lorna Nagler, chair of Ulta’s board of directors.
Navigating headwinds
Now at the helm, Steelman will need to strengthen the retailer’s performance and competitive position amid a challenging retail environment. In recent years, the US beauty giant has slowed down its store opening cadence amid a conservative sales performance (meanwhile, LVMH-owned rival Sephora continued its international store rollout, now operating over 1,000 doors) and experienced slower consumer spending, especially among Gen Z shoppers. In Q2 (the three months ended 3 August 2024), Ulta reported a 1.2 per cent year-on-year decline in comparable sales; in Q3 (ended 2 November 2024), comparable sales increased 0.6 per cent.
“We are navigating a number of headwinds, including the normalisation of the US beauty category, a dynamic consumer environment and elevated competition, particularly in prestige beauty,” said Kimbell in December, when reporting the Q3 results.
At the time of the earnings, Oliver Chen, senior retail analyst and managing director at investment banking firm TD Cowen, said Ulta delivered a solid third quarter. A bright spot was the retailer’s collaboration with Universal Pictures, offering a competitive edge against retailers like Sephora and Amazon. In September 2024, Ulta released a multi-branded Wicked-themed collection (including exclusives with Rem Beauty, founded by Ariana Grande) that was rolled out in stores and online.
Otherwise, the company has been focused on connecting with its consumers and doubling down on initiatives like The Joy Project, a research programme aimed at understanding what impacts people’s joy and well-being, which the retailer then applies to marketing and retail strategies. For example, Ulta Beauty launched its ‘Wellness and Joy’ pop-up at Miami Art Week last November, engaging with visitors through experiential activations and classes led by wellness experts such as Deepak Chopra. To boost growth this year, Chen said the retailer should execute and incubate new brands, push out exclusive launches (including its own private label collection) and rethink its store experience to offer a more modern and strategic layout featuring prestige and mass brands, blurring the categories as consumers increasingly shop across price points and brands.
Alongside the CEO announcement, Ulta said its performance over the holiday season was stronger than expected. The company now expects comparable sales to increase above its initial guidance of between 11.6 and 12.4 per cent for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024. Its full-year and Q4 earnings will be reported on 13 March. Steelman remains bullish: “I’m confident in our team and in our strategic plan, which will enable us to build upon Ulta Beauty’s strong foundation and take our company to new heights for our guests, associates, brand partners and shareholders.”
The company also announced that chief merchandising officer Monica Arnaudo will retire this spring.
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