Ulta Beauty Announces $50 Million Investment in DEI Activities

A Brief Summary

Ulta Beauty has announced its newest commitments to diversity, equality, and inclusion, focusing on brand amplification, assortment development, and fair guest and colleague experiences. The omnichannel retailer highlighted new plans to enhance efforts and continue its purposeful work within the beauty and retail industries after successfully developing and delivering on its 2021 goals. This year's efforts are divided into four categories, with a total anticipated investment of $50 million, more than double the pledges made in 2021.

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Ulta hopes to increase its DEI spending over the previous year, which included efforts to more than double the amount of Black-owned businesses in the company's range and giving quarterly in-store training to promote inclusion and combat unconscious bias.

Ulta's DEI investments in 2022 will be focused on brand amplification, assortment growth, and equitable guest and colleague experiences, according to the company.

The company announced several key investment areas for this year's DEI initiatives, including a $25 million investment in multicultural platforms to reach Latina, Black, and other multicultural beauty enthusiasts, as well as an $8.5 million investment in brand marketing, to support Black-owned, Black-founded, and Black-led brands in the company's assortment.

Ulta will also launch a Brand Partner Accelerator Program for early-stage BIPOC beauty brands, invest $5 million in venture capital firm New Voices to provide more access, capital, and expertise to founders of colour, and allocate $3.5 million to in-store merchandising to help guests find Black-owned, Black-founded, and Black-led brands more easily.

The company is planning a $2 million donation to BIPOC and LGBTQ+-focused non-profits, as well as mandatory in-store training for distribution centre and corporate associates to reinforce inclusivity and address unconscious bias, as well as continuing to invest in efforts to support its diverse slate recruitment efforts.

Tracee Ellis Ross, who joined last year as Ulta Beauty’s DE&I advisor, said: “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. 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.”