After rolling out over 600 shop-in-shop locations as part of its five-year partnership with Target, Ulta Beauty is hitting pause on new store openings. Speaking at J.P. Morgan’s 2025 Retail Round Up Conference recently, Ulta CEO Kecia Steelman confirmed the company is stepping back from expansion plans, despite its initial goal of reaching 800 in-store Target locations.
“Ulta Beauty at Target continues to be a meaningful way we meet guests where they are,” the brand said. “We remain focused on optimizing the experience in our more than 600 existing shop-in-shop locations and identifying the most strategic opportunities for future growth.”
The pause comes after Ulta added 101 new Target shop-in-shops in 2024 alone. However, analysts have raised concerns about the potential cannibalization of Ulta’s standalone stores, especially in areas where both Ulta Beauty and Target co-locate. Growing competition from Sephora’s shop-in-shops at Kohl’s has added further pressure to the beauty retailer.
Looking ahead, Ulta hasn’t shared plans beyond 2025, but Steelman emphasized that this year’s focus is on refining the existing Target footprint and applying key learnings from the initiative.
According to Ulta Beauty’s financial report, in 2024, Ulta Beauty’s net sales increased by 0.8% to $11.3 billion from $11.2 billion in the previous year, mainly driven by contributions from new store openings.
