Mary Dillon, CEO of Ulta Beauty, Says Selective Innovation and Inclusive Branding as Key to Success by CDT

Ulta Beauty, seller of makeup and other beauty products, is in the artificial intelligence business.

When CEO Mary Dillon joined Ulta in 2013, she saw a company that was already growing well. It had solid product assortment, services and real estate –– it was simply underinvested for the future. It needed to strengthen its digital components.

Growth in the beauty industry is causing competition among companies to become fiercer. And Ulta is disrupting itself in order to distinguish itself from other beauty retailers across the nation, Dillon said at the Center for Digital Transformation’s Road to Reinvention conference in March.

Most notably, last year the company acquired QM Scientific, an artificial intelligence platform, to improve customer insights and provide personalized recommendations for its 30 million loyalty members. Ulta also purchased GlamST LLC, an augmented reality platform that uses machine learning to provide virtual makeovers and haircuts on mobile, web and in-store devices.

These acquisitions allowed Ulta to pick up the pace of innovation by directly connecting the talent to the business, Dillon said.

Vijay Gurbaxani, Director of the Center for Digital Transformation, agreed, “One of our views at the center is that software needs to be every company’s core competency, and with these state-of-art applications, you can’t innovate fast enough unless you do it in-house.”

Those investments have been partly responsible for Ulta’s fast growth. Since the financial crisis of 2009, Ulta has attained the best performing S&P 500 stock, growing by 7,000 percent. Ulta was also named one of Fortune’s fastest growing companies.

In addition, Ulta invested in marketing across channels, such as television and social media. This was a particularly important move for Ulta, since beauty is the second most popular type of tutorial on YouTube.

The company launched new makeup brands with Kylie Jenner and James Charles, and took an inclusive approach to the brand as a whole, catering to men and women, members of the military and students, among others.

“Nobody puts it together like us,” Dillon added. “We have the biggest selection of beauty products from mass to prestige, and our services is a key differentiator. We also have great real estate. We have about 1,200 stores, and they tend to be off-mall in accessible places. All of that, in conjunction with the loyalty program and inclusive approach, is key to Ulta’s success.”

Ulta Beauty, seller of makeup and other beauty products, is in the artificial intelligence business. When CEO Mary Dillon joined Ulta in 2013, she saw a company that was already growing well. It had solid product assortment, services and real estate –– it was simply underinvested for the future. It needed to strengthen its digital components. Growth in the beauty industry is causing competition among companies to become fiercer. And Ulta is disrupting itself in order to distinguish itself from other beauty retailers across the nation, Dillon said at the Center for Digital Transformation’s Road to Reinvention conference in March. Most notably, last year the company acquired QM Scientific, an artificial intelligence platform, to improve customer insights and provide personalized recommendations for its 30 million loyalty members. Ulta also purchased GlamST LLC, an augmented reality platform that uses machine learning to provide virtual makeovers and haircuts on mobile, web and in-store devices. These acquisitions allowed Ulta to pick up the pace of innovation by directly connecting the talent to the business, Dillon said. Vijay Gurbaxani, Director of the Center for Digital Transformation, agreed, “One of our views at the center is that software needs to be every company’s core competency, and with these state-of-art applications, you can’t innovate fast enough unless you do it in-house.” Those investments have been partly responsible for Ulta’s fast growth. Since the financial crisis of 2009, Ulta has attained the best performing S&P 500 stock, growing by 7,000 percent. Ulta was also named one of Fortune’s fastest growing companies. In addition, Ulta invested in marketing across channels, such as television and social media. This was a particularly important move for Ulta, since beauty is the second most popular type of tutorial on YouTube. The company launched new makeup brands with Kylie Jenner and James Charles, and took an inclusive approach to the brand as a whole, catering to men and women, members of the military and students, among others. “Nobody puts it together like us,” Dillon added. “We have the biggest selection of beauty products from mass to prestige, and our services is a key differentiator. We also have great real estate. We have about 1,200 stores, and they tend to be off-mall in accessible places. All of that, in conjunction with the loyalty program and inclusive approach, is key to Ulta’s success.”