Recently, according to report, Ulta Beauty has appointed industry veteran Mia Young as its new senior vice president of merchandising, as chief merchandising and digital officer Lauren Brindley accelerates the company’s next phase of category and assortment strategy. Young will assume the role on January 5.
With more than two decades of beauty experience, Young brings extensive expertise in brand development, commercial leadership, and category building. She most recently served as chief commercial officer at Tatcha, following a similar tenure at Hourglass, where she oversaw global brand expansion.
Brindley, who joined Ulta Beauty in April, said the appointment reflects the retailer’s focus on strengthening its merchandising capabilities to fuel long-term growth. “I’ve already got an incredible merchandising and digital team, and I’ve been thoughtfully considering this role because I want to make sure it unlocks our next chapter of growth,” Brindley said. “Mia Young is an exceptional leader… She brings the exact muscle that we want to strengthen for the next chapter of our growth. Her role is going to be influential in how we architect our assortment.”
In her new position, Young will oversee fragrance, makeup and private label, three key pillars within Ulta’s merchandising engine. Fragrance remained the company’s fastest-growing category in the third quarter, achieving double-digit comparable sales growth, supported by newness from brands such as Valentino, Dolce & Gabbana, Miu Miu in prestige, and Squishmallows in mass. Makeup also posted mid-single-digit comp growth, with momentum across both mass and prestige tiers.
Brindley emphasized that Ulta’s “low to luxe” assortment remains a major differentiator in the U.S. beauty market.
“The opportunity for us in makeup is to really think about where the white spaces are in our brand portfolio,” she noted. “From a fragrance perspective, it’s been a booming category… and we believe it will continue to be a big part of our success in 2026 as well.”
Young’s arrival comes as Ulta pursues an ambitious global strategy. Since joining the company earlier this year, Brindley has been driving initiatives such as the retailer’s expansion into Mexico and the Middle East, as well as the rollout of its new marketplace model.
“At Ulta Beauty, our ambition is to be the global retailer of choice to launch, build, scale and globalize the most exciting brands in beauty,” Brindley said. “As we expand rapidly, we see our role as a key brand-building partner growing in importance. Our job is to tell each brand’s story—what makes them unique and what differentiates their products.”
