Popular global cosmetics retailer ULTA Beauty has launched in Dubai, following a spectacular entrance into the Middle East with its new store in Kuwait late last year.
The store opened its doors at Dubai’s Mall of The Emirates yesterday, bringing ‘low to lux’ beauty solutions across makeup, skincare, hair and fragrance.
Anne Tulloch, Divisional Marketing Director – Wellness at Alshaya Group speaks exclusively to Campaign Middle East about the direction ULTA Beauty is taking in the market in terms of its products and services, content strategy and overall marketing plan.
“What brought ULTA Beauty to the region is honestly its unique proposition and our guest is the most important thing to this unique proposition,” says Tulloch. “That is what sits at the heart of our marketing and content strategy – driving that excitement and buzz but also raising awareness.”
Introducing ULTA Beauty to Dubai’s consumers
To promote its low to lux assortment and position more than 300 brands, 50 of which are first-to-market brands from America, ULTA Beauty is employing a mix of data-led marketing, a 360-content plan and in-person activations to connect with consumers in the UAE and share the brand’s story to the market.
“We’ll be rolling out more than 14 events that are beauty-founder led over the next 10 days to be connecting with our guests,” says Tulloch.
The first of these events was the store’s inauguration by Nadine Njeim, the founder and chairwoman of Nadine Njeim Beauty.
Furthermore, setting relationships that nurture collaboration with local content creators within the beauty category is high-priority for ULTA’s content strategy in the UAE. Tulloch says that many of these creators are already lovers of the brand, so content around the new store is “truly authentic”.
She also relays that Kecia Steelman, President and CEO of Ulta Beauty visited the region herself to engage with the influencer community. ULTA Beauty hosted fireside chats with Steelman to create “one-on-one experiences with the brand that really increase the understanding of what we’re all about”.
Retaining customers and nurturing brand-love
While content plays an essential role in generating brand awareness, Tulloch says many of the the consumers in Dubai are already aware of ULTA Beauty’s platform because of it’s global prevalence.
Therefore, a key focus is to retain brand loyalty once visitors come to experience the store. To ensure this sustained relationship is nurtured, AlShaya has already put in place several rewards through its AURA programme.
“The idea is to leverage the loyalty programme to ensure that ULTA Beauty not only gains new customers but also retains them with newness, excitement and experiences,” Tulloch says.
This will be done through personalised and seasonal messaging, aligning with locally and culturally moments, such as Ramadan which is right around the corner. The retail brand will also collaborate with talents who resonate closely with its guests.
Pricing is a key driver of ULTA Beauty’s proposition as well. Offering drugstore and luxury items under one roof is how the brand plans to cater to a wider demographic of beauty lovers. For example, Tulloch says, “If you’re part of our loyalty programme, it’s half price on mani-pedis, which is absolutely amazing for our guests.”
“We’re really trying to be truly authentic, locally relevant, and also leaning into those trends, leaning into those new moments, and being led by our guests in terms of what they like,” Tulloch concludes.
