Ulta Beauty appoints Brieane Olson to Board of Directors
With her appointment, Ulta Beauty’s Board of Directors now comprises 10 members.
USA – Ulta Beauty has nominated Brieane Olson to join its Board of Directors, effective August 31, 2026, marking her as the newest member of the company’s 10-person board.
The Bolingbrook, Illinois–based retailer announced the appointment, noting that Olson will fill the board seat previously held by Kelly G. Garcia, who transitioned to Ulta Beauty’s Chief Technology Officer role.
Kecia Steelman, Ulta Beauty’s president and chief executive officer, said, “We are thrilled to welcome Brie to our Board of Directors.”
“She has extensive experience leading consumer retail organizations through periods of growth and transformation, and we are confident her insights into strategy execution, talent development, and long-term value creation will be invaluable to the Board as we continue to advance our Ulta Beauty Unleashed strategy.”
Olson brings more than two decades of speciality retail experience covering strategic planning, brand building, omnichannel commerce, merchandising, and organizational leadership.
She currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Pacific Sunwear (PacSun), a private speciality retailer of lifestyle apparel and related products, a role she has held since May 2023.
Prior to becoming CEO, she served as PacSun’s President from June 2021 and as Chief Brand Officer from July 2020.
Since joining PacSun in 2007, Olson has held progressively senior roles, including Chief Merchandising Officer and Senior Vice President of Merchandising and Design.
Before PacSun, she held leadership positions at Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollywould, and Valentino. She also serves on PacSun’s board of directors.
Olson holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications from the University of California, Berkeley, a master’s degree in Fashion from Istituto Marangoni in Italy, and has completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.
With her appointment, Ulta Beauty’s Board of Directors now comprises 10 members.
Ulta Beauty Q2 FY26 financial highlight
Ulta Beauty reported second-quarter fiscal 2026 results that topped its prior outlook and prompted the company to raise full-year guidance, citing strong sales, profit, and earnings growth driven by its “Ulta Beauty Unleashed” strategy and the contribution from its Space NK acquisition.
For the 13-week period ended August 1, 2026, Ulta Beauty posted net sales of $3.036 billion, up 8.9% from USD 2.788 billion in the same period a year earlier. Comparable sales increased 3.8%, while gross profit rose 8.7% to USD 1.187 billion, though gross margin slipped slightly to 39.1% of net sales from 39.2% due to the mix impact of the Space NK business.
Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses increased 8.2% to USD 802.8 million, primarily reflecting Space NK, but SG&A as a percentage of sales improved to 26.4% from 26.6%.
Operating income grew 10.1% to USD 379.6 million, representing 12.5% of net sales versus 12.4% in the prior-year quarter, and diluted earnings per share rose 13.3% to $6.55 from USD 5.78.
In the first half of fiscal 2026, Ulta Beauty invested USD 139.5 million in capital expenditures for new stores, relocations, remodels, and information technology. The company repurchased 1.4 million shares for USD 791.1 million (excluding excise taxes) in the first six months.
As of August 1, 2026, USD 1.0 billion remained available under its USD 3.0 billion share repurchase program; management now expects to fully utilize the remaining USD 1.0 billion by fiscal year-end.
Based on first-half performance, Ulta Beauty updated its fiscal 2026 guidance to net sales growth of 6.7%–7.2%, comparable sales growth of 3.2%–3.7%, operating income growth of 8.3%–9.3%, and diluted EPS of USD 28.70– USD 29.00, while leaving the capital expenditure range unchanged at USD 400 million– USD 450 million.
By category, cosmetics accounted for 37% of Q2 net sales, skincare and wellness 24%, haircare 20%, fragrance 13%, services 4%, and other 2%.
Over the first 26 weeks of fiscal 2026, the company opened 34 stores net of closures (31 net new), bringing its total company-operated store count to 1,622 (1,534 in the U.S. and 88 internationally) and total gross square footage to 16.1 million.
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