Prama Bhatt Departs Ulta Beauty
Prama Bhatt has left Ulta Beauty, the retailer confirmed to WWD.
Bhatt, the beauty retail giant’s chief digital officer, has departed the company. She first joined in 2014 after stints at Kenneth Cole and Toys R Us. Bhatt did not respond to request for comment by press time.
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An Ulta spokesperson confirmed Bhatt’s departure, noting that “Prama’s leadership and vision has helped grow our e-commerce business and shaped the experience we offer across our digital channels — we have the deepest respect and gratitude for all her contributions.”
The spokesperson added that the position would not be filled and that its digital team would be integrated into other teams “to accelerate our work further.”
That transition happens as Ulta’s digital business has grown. On the company’s most recent earnings call for the third quarter of 2023, chief executive officer Dave Kimbell said that digital channels’ comparable sales had grown approximately 10 percent. Stores, on the other hand, grew in the low-single digits.
Kimbell added that Ulta had gained share in prestige beauty across digital channels, though “guests are moving effortlessly between physical and digital channels, and we are investing to enhance the guest experience across all touch points.”
On that call, the company also announced the departure of longtime chief financial officer Scott Settersten, who will be succeeded by Paula Oyibo.
Beauty is still largely a brick-and-mortar game. According to annual data from Circana, brick-and-mortar still held the most share in prestige beauty, except for hair care. In 2023, prestige beauty grew 14 percent to $31.7 billion in the U.S., driven by double-digit growth in all categories.
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