Ulta Beauty
Ulta Beauty, Inc., formerly known as Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. and before 2000 as Ulta3, is an American chain of beauty stores headquartered in Bolingbrook, Illinois. Ulta Beauty carries both high-end and low-end cosmetics, fragrances, nail products, bath and body products, beauty tools and haircare products. Each store also has a beauty salon. History. Ulta was founded by Richard E. George, the former President of Osco Drug, Inc., and Terry Hanson. George left work at Osco in 1989 in order to develop a business plan for a retailer that would offer beauty products at different  price levels. Other Osco executives joined George and Hanson in the business, and raised $11.5 million in venture capital. The company, initially called Ulta3, was launched in 1990 with five stores in Chicago suburbs. The name was changed from Ulta3 to Ulta at the end of 1999. George left Ulta3 in 1995, and Hanson became the company's Chief Executive Officer. In December 1999, Lyn Kirby became the President and Chief Executive Officer and Charles "Rick" Weber became Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer. The two ran the business together until Weber left in  September 2006. On October 25, 2007, the company became publicly traded on the NASDAQ. In 2008, the company opened a second distribution center in Phoenix, Arizona. In 2010 Carl "Chuck" Rubin was appointed as Chief Operating Officer, President, and as a member of the Board of Directors. On June 24, 2013, it was announced that Mary Dillon would be appointed as Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors, effective July 1, 2013. Dillon was previously the chief of U.S. Cellular and a senior executive at McDonald's and PepsiCo. In 2010, the company had about 10,000  employees, increasing to about 44,000 in 2020. As of 2021, Ulta employs approximately 37,000 people. Operations. As of 2019, Ulta had stores in 48 states. A majority of Ulta Beauty stores are located in the East Coast region and in California. In August 2021, the retail chain Target started selling Ulta's products. Ulta Beauty offers both high-end and drugstore cosmetics, skincare, and fragrances, in addition to its own brands of beauty products and fragrances. They sell brands such as MAC Cosmetics. Kylie Cosmetics, and ColourPop cosmetics. Connected to each store is a hair and beauty salon which offers  services including haircuts and coloring, skin and facial treatments, manicures, eyebrow treatments, and makeup applications. Ulta Beauty sales were $713.8 million for the first quarter ending in May 2014. At the end of the second quarter ending in August 2014, Ulta Beauty reported that total sales increased by 22.2 percent and comparable store sales increased 9.6 percent. As of February 2, 2019, net sales for Ulta Beauty have increased 9.7% to $2,124.7 million.