Holiday Total Sales Increased 23.2%
Holiday Comparable Store Sales Increased 7.4%
Two Year Holiday Comparable Store Sales Increased 20%
Company Reaffirms Fourth Quarter Sales and Earnings Guidance
BOLINGBROOK, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 4, 2013--
Ulta Beauty (the “Company”) (NASDAQ: ULTA) today announced sales results
for the seven-week holiday period from November 11, 2012 to December 29,
2012. This period corresponds with the Company’s holiday marketing
initiatives and represents the seven full weeks beginning the week
before Thanksgiving through the end of the week of Christmas.
Total sales for the seven-week holiday period were $475.6 million, a
23.2% increase from the prior year holiday period’s sales of $386.0
million. Comparable store sales for the 2012 holiday period increased
7.4%, on top of a 12.6% increase during the same period in the prior
year. Over a two year period, comparable store sales increased 20%. The
Company’s comparable store sales exclude e-commerce sales.
Chuck Rubin, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated: “We were
pleased with our holiday sales performance given the numerous national
news events that appeared to have curtailed customer purchasing behavior
across most of retail. After a record sales performance during the Black
Friday and Cyber Monday weekend, sales in December slowed before
strongly rebounding the weekend before Christmas. Customers were more
sensitive to value as they shopped our stores and on-line throughout the
holiday period. We believe we gained market share across our major
categories, with prestige skincare and cosmetics delivering our
strongest growth. We are confident our strategy will continue to drive
market share gains and positions us well for long term growth.”
Outlook
The Company is reaffirming its fourth quarter fiscal 2012 outlook
provided in conjunction with its third quarter fiscal 2012 results
announced on November 29, 2012:
The Company expects fourth quarter fiscal 2012 net sales in the range of
$742 million to $754 million. Fourth quarter fiscal 2011 net sales were
$582.5 million. Comparable store sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal
2012 are expected to increase in a range of 5% to 7%, which includes the
impact from hurricane Sandy. Fourth quarter fiscal 2011 comparable sales
increased 11.5%. This sales guidance range reflects expectations for two
year comparable store sales to increase 16.5% to 18.5%.
Income per diluted share for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012 is
estimated to be in the range of $0.96 to $0.98. This compares to income
per diluted share for the fourth quarter of 2011 of $0.73.
About Ulta Beauty
Ulta Beauty is the largest beauty retailer that provides one-stop
shopping for prestige, mass and salon products and salon services in the
United States. Ulta Beauty provides affordable indulgence to its
customers by combining unmatched product breadth, value and convenience
with the distinctive environment and experience of a specialty retailer.
Ulta Beauty offers a unique combination of over 20,000 prestige and mass
beauty products across the categories of cosmetics, fragrance, haircare,
skincare, bath and body products and salon styling tools, as well as
salon haircare products. Ulta Beauty also offers a full-service salon in
all of its stores. As of December 29, 2012, Ulta Beauty operates 550
retail stores across 45 states and also distributes its products through
the Company’s website: www.ulta.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the
meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended, and the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which reflect our current views with
respect to, among other things, future events and financial performance.
You can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of
forward-looking words such as “outlook,” “believes,” “expects,” “plans,”
“estimates,” or other comparable words. Any forward-looking statements
contained in this press release are based upon our historical
performance and on current plans, estimates and expectations. The
inclusion of this forward-looking information should not be regarded as
a representation by us or any other person that the future plans,
estimates or expectations contemplated by us will be achieved. Such
forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and
uncertainties, which include, without limitation: the impact of weakness
in the economy; changes in the overall level of consumer spending;
changes in the wholesale cost of our products; the possibility that we
may be unable to compete effectively in our highly competitive markets;
the possibility that our continued opening of new stores could strain
our resources and have a material adverse effect on our business and
financial performance; the possibility that new store openings and
existing locations may be impacted by developer or co-tenant issues; the
possibility that the capacity of our distribution and order fulfillment
infrastructure may not be adequate to support our recent growth and
expected future growth plans; the possibility of material disruptions to
our information systems; weather conditions that could negatively impact
sales; and other risk factors detailed in our public filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including risk factors
contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
January 28, 2012. Our filings with the SEC are available at www.sec.gov.
The Company does not undertake to publicly update or revise its
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.
Source: Ulta Beauty
Ulta Beauty
Company Contact:
Scott Settersten
Chief
Financial Officer
(630) 410-4807
or
Investors/Media
Contact:
Laurel Lefebvre
(630) 410-5230