Ulta Reports Higher Revenue In 2014, Readies Expansion Moves

Cosmetics retailer Ulta Beauty reported $3.24 billion in sales in 2014, an increase of 21.4 percent compared with the previous year. Seeking to expand to 1,200 stores by 2019, the company said its net income for the first quarter of 2015 rose 34 percent to $66.9 million, or $1.04 per diluted share, compared with $50 million, or $0.77, in the same period of the previous year. At present, the company's share of the beauty market is about 3 percent, according to CEO Mary Dillon, who has pushed the company toward faster growth. Her five-year growth plan includes opening 500 new stores, with e-commerce operations accounting for 10 percent of total sales, and comparable sales growth of 5 percent to 7 percent a year.