Why Ulta Beauty is partnering with beauty magazine Allure’s retail store

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Ulta Beauty, the largest beauty retailer in the US, is bringing a curated selection of its 25,000 products to Allure’s in-person and online beauty stores, expanding the media brand’s retail selection while putting Ulta products in front of a new audience.

The Ulta shop-in-shop, which will run from July to September, marks the first time the Condé Nast-owned title is partnering with a retailer. (Vogue Business is also owned by Condé Nast.) Participating brands include Fenty Beauty, Drybar, Olaplex, Tula, The Ordinary, Peter Thomas Roth, CosRX, NYX, Morphe and Beekman 1802, and were selected by Ulta’s merchandising team. Any purchases made from Ulta Beauty within Allure will be counted towards Ulta reward points.

“The partnership represents a unique retail collaboration that merges beauty authority from two industry leaders in an innovative way,” Ulta Beauty’s senior vice president of merchandising Maria Salcedo tells Vogue Business. “We see this as an opportunity to ignite curiosity and fuel beauty discovery across our unparalleled assortment among a highly engaged beauty community, as well as engage with those who may not be aware of the brands and experiences we offer.”

Allure opened its permanent bricks-and-mortar store in New York in July 2021, selling beauty brands curated by its editors and those from the magazine’s annual Best of Beauty Awards and Reader’s Choice Awards. This year, it added an e-commerce arm to Allure.com, which will also feature the Ulta selection. Its retail store features a constant rotation of 100 to 200 brands, via a wholesale model; with Ulta, it’s increasing its brand relationships. The brand declined to share sales figures but said that its average order value in May was $72.

Photo: Ulta Beauty x Allure