Starting in August, Target (NYSE:TGT) customers will be able to walk into select big-box stores and buy premium brands of mascara, lipstick and hairspray that they typically only find at specialty stores or at the mall.
Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) said Wednesday that it will open its first beauty shops inside of Target next month. The mini shops will feature an assortment of merchandise from more than 50 prestige brands for makeup, skincare and hair, including Clinique, Urban Decay, Tarte, MAC Cosmetics, Drybar, Jack Black and Ariana Grande.
Target will also sell the curated mix of products on its website.
The retailers said they will open more than 100 shops by the end of the year, with plans to grow to a total of 800 shops over the next few years. That means more than a third of Target stores across the country could eventually include a mini Ulta shop. Each shop will be about 1,000 square feet — roughly one-tenth the size of a typical Ulta store.
By putting a scaled-down, brightly colored beauty shop inside of Target, both retailers hope to attract new shoppers, deepen customer loyalty and encourage store trips.
Target’s shares are up 44% so far this year and touched an all-time high on Tuesday. Ulta is up 16% so far this year.
TGT opened Wednesday up $1.15 to $255.86, while ULTA ballooned $4.88, or 1.5%, to $339.38.
