Beauty retailer Ulta Beauty Inc.
has selected Michelle Crossan-Matos, formerly a marketing leader for Samsung Electronics America, as its new chief marketing officer.
Ms. Crossan-Matos will oversee all integrated marketing, loyalty, creative operations, store design, public relations, consumer insights and retail media activities, according to the Bolingbrook, Ill.-based company. . The chief marketing officer position was previously held by Shelley Haus, who died of cancer last June.
Most recently, Ms. Crossan-Matos was the director of marketing, citizenship and communications at Samsung Electronics America. She previously held positions such as Senior Vice President at Samsung, overseeing areas such as corporate strategy and product innovation, as well as CMO at luxury mobile phone company Vertu and various brand leadership roles in skin care, cosmetics and fragrances at Procter & Gamble. Co.
Michelle Crossan-Matos, Ulta Beauty’s new director of marketing.
Photo:
PRM Creative, Inc.
In December, Ulta reported earnings for the quarter ended Oct. 29 that suggested consumers were still spending money on beauty products even in the face of inflation, prompting the company to upgrade its outlook for its fiscal year.
Ulta sells a variety of products across all beauty categories and price points, allowing consumers to move up or down as needed to meet their budgets, the company said.
“I think beauty care is probably going to be one of the more resilient categories, and then I think Ulta Beauty is going to be even more resilient, just because of the portfolio that Ulta Beauty has and the kind of guests that come in, they tend to be much more resilient. ”, said Ms. Crossan-Matos.
Ulta will remain focused on social media, videos, beauty tutorials, and experience-based marketing. in the next year, Ms. Crossan-Matos said. She added that she hopes customers will seek out more experiences, whether it’s in her stores, in her salons or through her virtual try-on app.
Ms. Crossan-Matos said she plans to try to get as close to customers as possible.
“I’ll be selling in the store, I’ll be working in the store, I’ll be working in our distribution center, I’ll be listening to customer service, so I can really understand what the guest really needs and wants, because that’s what marketing does. “, said. “We’re trying to deliver the best products to them and tell them a story in a way that really helps them, but how can you do that if you’re sitting behind a computer?”
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Ulta, like many other retailers, raised prices throughout 2022 and is hoping to retain some pricing power into the new year even as inflation begins to subside. But consumers and businesses are expected to cut back on discretionary spending and be less forgiving of price increases as they become more budget conscious.
Dave Kimbell, CEO of Ulta Beauty
said in the company’s third-quarter earnings call in December that its efforts to build customer loyalty in a personalized way is driving the growth of its loyalty plan membership, with 39 million active members at the end of the quarter, 9% more than in the same period of the previous year. He said overall spend per member had increased, driven by higher purchase frequency and higher average total transactions.
Email Megan Graham at [email protected]
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