Ulta Beauty saw a slowdown in business over the first two months of Q1, as shares fell 14.5% on Wednesday. 
 
According to Reuters, this is not the only beauty company to experience a drop in shares. E.l.f. Beauty, Coty, and Estée Lauder also reported bad days on Wednesday. E.l.f. Beauty shares fell about 12.2%, Coty’s and Estée Lauder’s shares fell about 5%. 
 
Ulta CEO, Dave Kimbell told JPMorgan Chase, “What we have seen so far is a slowdown in the total category across price points and segments. That’s a bit earlier and a bit bigger than we thought.”
 
Despite the competition in the makeup and haircare categories, Ulta expects sales will increase at a mid-single-digit range with the demand for luxury makeup brands such as Clinique and MAC Cosmetics. 
 
However, the success of the beauty market over the past few years has encouraged retailers to expand their beauty offerings. 
 
Target opened several Ulta Beauty shops in their stores, and Kohl’s has partnered with Sephora to house shops in Kohl’s locations. Macy’s also closes namesake stores to make room for more Bluemercury locations.  

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