Dive Brief:
- Ulta Beauty is going deeper into the Korean beauty market through a partnership with K-Beauty World that will bring eight Korean beauty brands to Ulta’s stores and website this summer.
- Products from Chasin’ Rabbits, I’m From, Mixsoon, Rom&nd, Neogen, Some By Mi, Sungboon Editor and Unleashia will be available at Ulta through the partnership. This is in addition to the K-beauty brands Ulta already offers, per a company press release.
- K-Beauty World is a platform focused on spreading awareness of K-beauty brands through activations and retail destinations, with over 200 products across its assortment. The company also operates a traveling pop-up modeled after Korean convenience stores that is making the rounds in the U.S.
Dive Insight:
As it navigates a period of heightened competition, Ulta is expanding its assortment of Korean beauty brands amid “growing U.S. demand” for Korean beauty innovation.
"This exclusive partnership brings time-honored, high-performing products, that have been long trusted by Korean consumers, to a broader audience, making it easier than ever for beauty lovers across the country to experience the power of K-beauty,” Kaitlin Rinehart, vice president of merchandising at Ulta, said in a statement. “While we have offered many K-beauty brands within our skincare assortment for some time now, we are thrilled to enter this next phase of growth and expansion with even more brands to discover across categories and price points."
K-Beauty World is also spreading the word elsewhere in the U.S. through its traveling pop-up, which has already appeared in locations like Los Angeles’ Westfield Century City and festivals including South by Southwest. The pop-ups feature product demos, early access to new products and interactive displays, among other things.
For Ulta’s part, the relationship with K-Beauty World comes as the retailer makes a broader push to integrate new brands into its offering as part of a larger turnaround effort. The retailer is also going back to the basics on stores and shifting its marketing approach after it lost market share for the first time last year.
Despite its recent challenges, Ulta is making a serious international push this year, with plans to open stores in Mexico City, Kuwait City and the United Arab Emirates’ Dubai in 2025. The retailer also made waves last week by announcing it acquired British beauty retailer Space NK, marking a significant entry into that market.
The retailer also has a shop-in-shop partnership with Target, though it paused on openings for that relationship earlier this year in order to improve the current locations.
