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“It’s been a crazy 24 hours, that’s for sure, but it’s been really exciting at the same time,” said Kecia Steelman, the newly minted chief executive officer and president of Ulta Beauty, in an exclusive interview with WWD on Tuesday.
On Monday, the beauty retailer revealed that Steelman, previously chief operating officer and president at Ulta, would immediately take the reins as CEO and president from Dave Kimbell, who had been in that role since 2021. While industry sources weren’t surprised that he was succeeded by Steelman, who is said to be well liked by associates, they were by the timing and the immediacy of the announcement.
Steelman was ready, though, stressing that she has been preparing for this role for the past 30 years.
“It is really rewarding to finally have it be official and be sitting in the seat and be excited for this chapter,” she said from her office in Bolingbrook, Ill.
While there is a new CEO at the helm, don’t expect an abrupt change in strategy from the plan that was unveiled at the retailer’s 2024 Investor Day in October.
That’s because Steelman oversaw the aggressive strategy to reignite Ulta’s growth, which includes increasing its U.S. store count by 200 doors over the next three years, opening its first international market in Mexico in 2025, doubling down on wellness and exclusivity in its merchandising strategy and amplifying its loyalty program.
“I am totally all in on everything that was shared at Investor Day and our brand partner day,” she said. “We collectively built this plan together. It’s going to help us continue to drive profitable growth and lead share in both beauty and wellness in the future. We also did share at Investor Day that 2025 is really going to be a big investment year for us as we continue to accelerate our go-to-market strategies to continue to make sure that we are laying a really good foundation for growth going forward.”
In terms of where the retailer would be investing, Steelman pinpointed wellness, brand-building, higher personalization, advertising and communicating with the consumer, and leaning into how Ulta can be more cost-effective.
So far, her appointment appears to be favorable among analysts, although the stock closed down a touch at $428.27 on Tuesday.
“We believe Ms. Steelman is a solid leader who resonates well with associates and her operations experience should serve the company well as it expands its store count and looks to better leverage the loyalty program,” said Olivia Tong, an analyst at Raymond James.
Oliver Chen, an analyst at TD Cowen, highlighted her experience across merchandising, real estate and experiential retail, with her signature strength being her team-building execution. “We are looking forward to the management change given the intensification of key competitors such as Amazon and Sephora,” he said. “However, we believe competitive headwinds, future store growth, margin volatility and the need for merchandising improvements are lingering questions keeping us from being more positive.”
An industry source added: “She’s been a big part of the success so far so I look forward to see how far she takes it from here.” Another described her as a “bold leader.”
As for building out her team, Steelman is not currently planning on filling the chief operating officer role left vacant after her promotion. She is still actively searching for a chief merchandising officer, though, to succeed Monica Arnaudo, who recently revealed plans to retire in the spring of 2025.
“I’m so thankful because Monica and I have worked together for many years, and she’s very committed to staying on board until we get the right chief merchandising officer in a role that is such a critical position,” said Steelman. “She’s got some very big shoes to fill within the industry, but I believe we can get the very best talent in this organization. This is a fantastic job for the right person to continue to grow and change the landscape of beauty for the United States and beyond.”
Steelman assessed what skill sets the retailer has and what it might need: “The pace of change is moving faster now than ever before,” she said, “and you have to have the right skills for the future to really position us to continue to grow. One of the things that I’m really leaning into is, do I have all of my aces in their places to take this company to the next level of our growth?”
That will include those with international experience under their belts. Ulta, currently just in the U.S., is gearing up for its first international expansion into Mexico in the second half of this year in a joint venture with Axo, a global brands operator, and more markets could be on the way.
“It’s very clear through our insights that Ulta Beauty would resonate in many parts of the world,” said Steelman. “The power of social media is that the awareness of our brand is well beyond North America, and we’re learning more and more about that. I can’t wait to share more in the future.”
Before Mexico was revealed, Ulta had previously planned to launch in Canada, but that never materialized.
On the strength of the business, Steelman did not comment further than what was released Monday: After some wobbles earlier in 2024 amid a number of headwinds, Ulta Beauty increased its fourth-quarter outlook, citing stronger-than-expected performance during the holiday season.
“I really can’t share much because we’re in a quiet period right now, but we felt like it was really important to give an indication that the CEO change was not because there were challenges within the business,” she said. “I will share that Dave and I have been in contact. He’s been very supportive of me taking this role. I’m very excited for him. And whatever is next for him — if that’s laying on the beach, or whatever he decides to do — he’s going to be successful. But we wanted to make sure that there were no concerns that there was something that was wrong with our business, and that’s why we made a CEO change. That’s not the case.”
Steelman did, though, address the fiercely competitive market, with the likes of Sephora, Amazon and TikTok Shop gaining share.
“We’ve got a very solid strategic plan in place that I believe is going to continue to help us with our growth. We’re really focused on a couple core categories. Wellness could be a huge growth category for us, as well as leaning into marketing and advertising to continue to broaden our reach around our loyalty members,” she said. “The secret sauce for us are the associates that we have in our stores who are so passionate about the products that we’re selling and helping educate our consumer, not only with the human experience, but also with our our app and digital platforms.”
With her deep experience on the operational side of the business, Steelman has built a strong relationship with associates, who she connects with as she, too, began her career as an hourly associate in retail.
“When you can walk a day in someone else’s shoes, it gives you a total appreciation for the value that they bring to the organization,” she said. “I do try to keep those lines of communication very open. The answers are always out there with the front lines, because they’re engaging with our guests every single day. Human connections and relationships are really important, whether it’s talking about the associates in store or the associate in the corporate office.”
As for relationships with brands, while Steelman has been largely on the operation side, her role in leading strategy over the past three years has exposed her to a lot more brands. She also worked in merchandising and marketing earlier in her career.
“The partnerships that we have with brands are incredibly important to me, and I’m looking forward to getting even more time with our brand owners and with brand CEOs in the future,” she said.
Amid all this, an important priority for Steelman is working to elevate women in corporate beauty.
“This is a huge responsibility that I have as being a Fortune 500 female CEO, and I’m very honored and humbled to be in this position. I view myself as a role model for so many, and I continue to mentor many women that are out there in the business industry, in beauty and outside of beauty,” said the executive.
“COVID was really detrimental for women in the workplace, because it put us back a bit. And I do feel a huge responsibility to continue to be my true authentic self and bring my authentic self to work every day and just be a role model to show women that you can do it.”
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