Ulta will now carry the Chanel makeup line.
As someone who frequents Ulta for skincare, this match is extremely odd. Chanel is an extremely high end makeup brand–they sell a tube of lipstick for close to $40. Most makeup brands in Ulta are cheap drug store brands like Covergirl, BH cosmetics, and NYX. I find it extremely weird that Chanel could be situated right next to $3 lipstick from Wet N Wild.
This is a win for Ulta. It’ll bring foot traffic into the brick and mortar stores that they maybe wouldn’t ordinarily get, because Chanel is only available in department stores or online. This partnership also gives Ulta a leg up over Sephora. Sephora tends to offer high end brands like Chanel, Marc Jacobs, Giorgiana Armani, and Dior.
However, this might not be ideal for Chanel. Many of the frequent Chanel customers love the idea of Chanel as a luxury brand. They love the experience of walking up to the counter and being treated as a valued customer. If I walk into Ulta, it’s rare that someone even greets me at the door, much less provide an informed opinion about a product I’m looking for. No offense–they just have such a large inventory that it’s almost impossible to know each and every product. In fact, on Pop Fashion, many angry Chanel customers wrote in stating how they were switching brands.
Would it bother you if your favorite luxury brand was sitting next to cheap(er) brands? Or would you just bypass Ulta and stick to your favorite department store?
I think you make an interesting point. On the one hand, it seems like this would be a great idea. Now customers from all ends of the spectrum will end up at Ulta. However, like you point out, I think part of the reason high end brands are valued is because they are exclusive and not for everyone. They want that extra perk or special attention that comes with it. Starbucks also came to mind with this. The people who frequent Starbucks are not the ones who are going to be looking for the biggest bang for their buck. The atmosphere and brand is part of why they are willing to pay so much. It will be interesting to see how this partnership turns out.
I’m very surprised by this. Is Chanel going to lower their prices for the products going into these stores? I just cannot imagine Chanel products in Ulta! It will be interesting to follow whether other luxury makeup brands follow suit. I suppose this fits perfectly with the concepts that we have been learning about in this class, in that Chanel seems to bringing a certain amount of disruption into the market by making this move. Perhaps Chanel will be gaining a “first-mover” advantage by being one of the first brands I’ve heard of moving into this sort of distribution channel.
The crazy thing is, they’re not intending on lowering their prices! They’re just making their products available to a different audience. And I absolutely agree. Chanel could be the first in a series of partnerships to come to Ulta.