Ulta Beauty, the beauty retailer, has shared its latest diversity, equity and inclusion commitments with a focus on brand amplification, assortment growth and equitable guest and associate experiences.
 
After successfully establishing and delivering on its 2021 commitments, the omnichannel retailer revealed new initiatives to bolster efforts and continue its purposeful work within the beauty and retail industries. This year’s efforts span four categories totaling a planned investment of $50 million, doubling 2021’s commitments.
 
“As a values-driven company, we believe we have a responsibility to drive diversity, equity and inclusion in our company, industry and world,” said Dave Kimbell, chief executive officer, Ulta Beauty. “Looking back at 2021, I’m proud of the work we did to meaningfully grow our assortment, elevate and celebrate underrepresented voices, invest in our associates and create equitable experiences. Our forward-looking 2022 DE&I commitments ensure that we remain energized, creative and extremely dedicated to leading in this critical space.”
 
Ulta Beauty has long prioritized DE&I within its business strategy, mission and values. The 2022 commitments build upon the holistic, tangible efforts established in 2021 to ensure guests, associates, partners and communities feel connected to and reflected at Ulta Beauty.
 
“After formally working together for a year, I’m hopeful that Ulta Beauty’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion has been a catalyst for other organizations to examine how they plan for and create foundational change,” said Tracee Ellis Ross, Ulta Beauty’s DE&I advisor. “Ensuring employees can thrive and that customers are seen, heard and celebrated remains a clear business objective. The Ulta Beauty team brings passion and accountability to this necessary work and I am proudly committed to supporting this team.”

In 2022, Ulta Beauty promises to:

• Dedicate approximately $25 million in media investments with multicultural platforms to nurture personal connections with Latine, Black and other multicultural beauty enthusiasts. Notably, 10% of this investment will be directly spent with Black and Latine owned media outlets, outpacing media industry benchmarks.


• Build upon its newly established and widely proclaimed MUSE platform with programming to magnify, uplift, support and empower Black voices in beauty.


• Invest $8.5 million to brand marketing support for Black-owned, Black-founded and Black-led brands within the company’s assortment, more than doubling last year’s investment to reflect the retailers’ expanded Black-owned assortment.


• Launch a Brand Partner Accelerator Program focused on early-stage BIPOC beauty brands. Ulta Beauty will provide time, resources and mentorship to educate, inspire and support accelerator participants with brand development for retail readiness.


• To offer founders of color greater access, capital and expertise, the company will invest $5 million in New Voices, a venture capital firm that partners with and invests in entrepreneurs of color to drive scalable, sustainable businesses and create generational wealth. As the VC’s beauty retail partner, Ulta Beauty will provide priority access to shelf space, merchandising and marketing support.


• Allocate $3.5 million to in-store merchandising support so guests can more readily find the Black-owned, Black-founded and Black-led brands within the Ulta Beauty assortment


• New this year, the Ulta Beauty Charitable Foundation will donate $2 million to BIPOC and LGBTQ+-focused non-profits with volunteering and education opportunities for associates.


• Inclusion in Action, the quarterly, in-store training launched in 2021 to reinforce inclusivity and address unconscious bias, will now be mandatory for distribution center and corporate associates in addition to a second year of curriculum for salon and store associates. This accounts for a $2.5 million investment, in addition to the existing company trainings, and will result in a minimum 3.5 hours of required DE&I training for all associates.


• Textured hair and shade matching education trainings will be further enriched across every Ulta Beauty salon.


• The reimagined Diverse Leaders Development Program has doubled the number of associates and now includes expanded external partner expertise, dedicated trainings as well as CEO and executive mentorship for high-potential, future company leaders.


• Ulta Beauty will continue to significantly invest in incremental efforts to support its diverse slate recruitment efforts


• Teams across the company will continue to acknowledge and celebrate lived experiences with always on DEI internal programming with dedicated workshops, panels, keynote speakers and educational programming for key moments such as Diversity Week, Pride Month, Black History Month and Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, among others.

 
With a formalized internal governance in place across the enterprise, Ulta Beauty says it is committed to progress and will share updates as it continues to build upon its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.