REPORT. al Lancôme products, and how will it be received by customers?

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1 FOLLOW-UP REPORT David Franklin, Ryan Duck, Lancôme s Labor Day Launch at Ulta to be a Huge Success Companies: EPA:OR, ULTA September 1, 1, 2011 Research Question: When will Ulta stores expand with additional al Lancôme products, and how will it be received by customers? Summary of Findings L Oréal SA s (EPA:OR) Lancôme products recently have become available at three of the six Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) stores visited by Blueshift, a product expansion expected to be a win-win for both companies as it initially rolls out to of Ulta s 400-plus stores nationally. An Ulta store in North Carolina and two in Chicago reported that Lancôme cosmetics and skin care products are in high demand, selling well and that customers are excited about having access to the prestigious line in Ulta stores. Two Ulta store locations that currently offer Lancôme said a comprehensive Labor Day launch with prominent in-store displays, gift-with-purchase and a promotional mailer will announce the availability of Lancôme products. Ulta s Web site, which currently lists Lancôme cosmetics as available in-store only, is driving customers to Ulta store locations. A Los Angeles store that does not carry Lancôme reported that many customers already have asked about Lancôme s mascara and other eye makeup. Lancôme is employing select Ulta store employees to represent the brand in Ulta stores, similar to the department store model. A North Carolina Ulta store selling Lancôme products is offering an unprecedented four Ultimate Rewards points for every purchase of a Lancôme product. This report uncovered conflicting data on the number of Ulta stores participating in the Lancome product expansion. A Los Angeles store manager believes an initial 39 Ulta stores were slated to offer Lancôme, while a Chicago store associate said 29 Ulta stores will conduct a trial run of Lancôme products. Of the three visited stores not yet carrying Lancôme products one in Chicago and two in Los Angeles store employees were unsure or unwilling to discuss when Lancôme products would be offered. Background Sources in Blueshift Research s Aug. 18 report on Ulta expected the beauty retailer to continue to expand its product selection to attract additional customers. Two sources mentioned that Ulta was expanding its partnership with Lancôme beyond carrying its fragrances in an effort to diversify its inventory. This report focused strictly on the expansion of Lancome products in Ulta stores, the timing and the customer reaction. CURRENT RESEARCH Blueshift employed its pattern mining approach to establish and interview sources in the following independent silo: 1) Ulta stores visited by Blueshift Research (6) 1) ULTA STORES Ulta store manager and a Lancôme L representative in North N Carolina These two sources said Lancôme s big brand name will only add to Ulta s success. Customers, staff and the store s Lancôme representative all are excited to have Lancôme products available at Ulta. Fifty-two Lancôme cosmetics and skin care products have been available for one week but only in stores. Lancôme fragrances have been available in 1

2 stores and online for more than two years. The store manager reported strong sales and good expectations, thanks to upcoming marketing by both Ulta and Lancôme. We have had [Lancôme] for a couple of weeks, but we just set it up last week and it s been selling very well. We are excited about having the brand. They are so well-known and well-advertised. It will only help Ulta and [Lancôme]. The launch is in one week, and we will have more stock then. I m not sure if or when we will expand the product line. We carry 52 Lancôme products right now, cosmetics and skin care too. The fragrances have been in the store [Ulta] for a long while. We don t have some of the products like the nail colors and other slow sellers. Customers are excited; they see we started carrying it. We have had [Lancôme] for a couple of weeks, but we just set it up last week and it s been selling very well. The launch is in one week, and we will have more stock then. Ulta Store Manager North Carolina So far it has been word-of-mouth that we have [Lancôme], but mailers will go out the first week in September announcing it s available in our store. As far as I know we are only selling it in the store and not online. I think it s an issue of mailing chemicals. I am trained from Lancôme, but the other girls will get some training on the products too. Ulta is offering four points for every purchase of Lancôme product. That s huge. We are giving away a 10-day sample of [Lancôme] foundation with a complimentary consultation. We offer the consults all day every day, and during September we will give out a free sample of [Lancôme s] Définicils mascara. It is [Lancôme s] most popular product right now. Reporter Observations: The Lancôme display was in the front of the store and offered a boutique look but with a fun and friendly atmosphere. Sales associate working at a Chicago store that offers Lancôme products Lancôme products have been on the floor for a week and are selling very well. The store has most of the line and expects the balance before the official Labor Day weekend rollout. Lancôme will be introduced with signage, makeovers and a prominent display on the cover of the next Ulta flier. Lancôme mascaras, specifically the Hypnôse line, are the most popular product. Customers have stated their appreciation in having the ability to purchase the line in an Ulta store. [Lancôme] is doing very well. Customers are surprised and excited to see it in the store. [Customers] say they won t have to go downtown or out to a suburban mall to get Lancôme anymore. They can just get it at Ulta now. We pretty much have most of the line now. We have it all skin care, makeup and fragrance. What we don t have now, we will be getting it in the next week or so. But Lancôme s line is so huge. I am not sure we are going to get every single thing, but we already got a lot of it. One lady came in looking for a concealer that we didn t have. We also don t have fragrance-free Dual Finish yet. I would say the mascaras are selling the best so far. The original Hypnôse sells well, and customers are just starting to buy the Hypnôse Drama. Some customers have asked about the newest one, Hypnôse Doll, and the ones who get it really love it. I think our next flier is going to be all about Lancôme. I am pretty sure Lancôme will be on the cover and the focus. It should be out soon. I think we are officially rolling out Lancôme Labor Day weekend. We ve had [Lancôme products] in the back for a few weeks, but we had to wait for the display builders first. Our displays are really nice. They were specially made for us. I think we are officially rolling out Lancôme Labor Day weekend. We ve had [Lancôme products] in the back for a few weeks, but we had to wait for the display builders first. For the rollout, the whole store will be all about Lancôme. For the rollout, the whole store will be all about Lancôme. We re going to be doing makeovers with Lancôme makeup artists. And we re going to have a gift-with-purchase. I think it s going to be a travel-size mascara. We aren t going to have the traditional gift-with-purchase promotions like Macy s [Inc./M] or Bloomingdale s. We will be doing other types of promos. 2

3 Reporter Observations: One floor display was focused on Lancôme skin care and makeup. Fliers advertising 21 Days of Beauty, starting Sept. 4, were placed near the registers. Makeup artists from higher-end brands will be in the store during this promotional event, but no mention of Lancôme was made. According to a promotional calendar breakdown, the most frequently promoted brands were Philosophy.com Inc., Bare Escentuals Beauty Inc. s bareminerals, Dermalogica Inc., The Estée Lauder Cos. Inc. s (EL) Smashbox, Murad Inc. and Urban Decay Cosmetics LLC. Associate for an Ulta store in Chicago that sells Lancôme This source said Ulta is carrying Lancôme makeup and skin care in 29 of its stores. Due to its brand recognition, Lancôme should do very well for Ulta, and responses have been positive during the line s first weekend on Ulta s floor. Urban customers prefer the convenience of Ulta s locations and free parking lots. Promotions will differ from department stores, with no minimum dollar amount required for the gift-with-purchase. Lancôme s Hypnôse already is one of the store s top selling fragrances. We feel Lancôme is going to do very well for us. It will elevate our business even more. We ve had it on the floor for three days. Everybody is excited about it. Now you don t have to go downtown to get Lancôme. We are still filling in the testers. We pretty much have everything we are getting. We have a large amount of the line, but we don t have the entire line. They brought in the products they thought would do best. It is a trial run with 29 of our stores. If it does well, I assume we will roll it out into other stores. But everyone knows what Lancôme is so it is going to do well. It already has been. We won t be getting the Absolue moisturizer line. It is too high of a price point for our customers. We don t have any creams here for $350. Our highest is $250. They are discontinuing the fragrance-free Dual Finish. They told us at our training. Customers really love the scent of the original, so that is all they will offer once they are sold through. Our store already had Lancôme fragrance. Hypnôse is already one of our top selling fragrances. We did just get in the three new Lancôme Ô fragrances with the new makeup and skin care products. There are three scents. The displays make the store look more modern. They are very appealing. Our displays are more approachable than a department store s. A lot of people find makeup counters intimidating, and they are highpressure. We don t work on commission here, so I am only going to sell you something that is right for you and not about sales. The difference with our promotion and department store promotions is that ours will be a gift with any purchase. You won t have to meet a $35 minimum purchase or whatever the limit is to get your free gift. They won t let us do the gift-with-purchase like the department stores. Lancôme is traditionally a department store brand, so they want to keep some differences between us. I think our first gift is a little mascara. We will be changing it as we go along, depending on what they give us. We feel Lancôme is going to do very well for us. It will elevate our business even more. We ve had it on the floor for three days. Everybody is excited about it. Now you don t have to go downtown to get Lancôme. The difference with our promotion and department store promotions is that ours will be a gift with any purchase. You won t have to meet a $35 minimum purchase or whatever the limit is to get your free gift. Reporter Observations: The Lancôme area was right in the front of the store and easily visible from the front windows. The 10- to 12-foot wall display was divided into three sections of makeup, and of the two floor displays, one carried primarily makeup and the other skin care and fragrance. Store manager for a Los Angeles-area Ulta location that does not carry Lancôme This store was not chosen as one of the 39 initial stores this source said were authorized to sell Lancôme products. Still, customers already are asking for the products, particularly the Rénergie Eye Multiple Action. Online sales will not affect in-store sales because customers like the experience of testing products themselves. 3

4 Our store does not carry Lancôme yet. I think 39 stores, mostly on the East coast, were identified to carry it first. We are in line to start carrying it but not sure when. Customers definitely come in asking for Lancôme, especially for the eyewear. The Lancôme Rénergie is probably the most asked-for Lancôme product. They also ask for the mascara. When we do get their products in the store, it is almost a guarantee that they will be among the most popular brands. I am not sure if we will get both perfume and cosmetics. I think the online option is a positive, especially for products we do not carry in our store but make available. It tells the customer we have them covered. Also, we make the process of coming in for our products an experience. We are like a Target, but offer as much if not more than a beauty supply store and more hands-on personal experience. And we take it to another level with our in-store salons. We give customers a total beauty experience that you cannot get online. Reporter Observations: Blueshift noted no promotional signage for Lancôme products, but did see several in-store promotions for gifts-with-purchase. Customers definitely come in asking for Lancôme, especially for the eyewear. The Lancôme Rénergie is probably the most asked-for Lancôme product. They also ask for the mascara. When we do get their products in the store, it is almost a guarantee that they will be among the most popular brands. Store Manager, Ulta Los Angeles-area Store associate for a Los Angeles-area Ulta location that does not carry Lancôme The store has not yet received Lancôme products. The source would not discuss Lancôme s future in her store though she said many customers repeatedly ask for Lancôme products, particularly its skin care line. She does not view online sales as a threat to Ulta s in-store sales. I do not think online sales will hurt stores. Getting customers to know us and who we are online and offline is always synergistic. We work to promote our online specials as well as in-store specials all the time, so I do not see this changing. Reporter Observations: The store had no promotional signage for Lancôme products. One man and three women were the store s only customers, and all were in their 20s and buying skin or hair care products. The store is in a new retail complex anchored by Home Depot and Staples. Associate at an Ulta store in suburban Chicago with no Lancôme offerings This small location has no plans to carry Lancôme, but the company will open a larger store across the street this fall. The source said the new branch might add the Lancôme line once it opens. We don t have any Lancôme here. I haven t heard about it coming to the store. We are a considered a smaller store. They might have it at some of the larger stores in the area. We will be closing this store later this year and opening a new, larger one across the street. Maybe we will have Lancôme when we open the new store. Next Steps Blueshift s next report on Ulta will gauge customers response to Ulta s inclusion of Lancôme products and the effects on Ulta s and Lancôme s sales. We also will monitor Ulta s expansion of its stores and its men s line. We will determine whether Ulta s sales growth will continue into the third and fourth quarters and if the company still will rely on discounting and promotions to drive traffic and sales. We will assess whether customers are bypassing department stores cosmetics counters and going to one-stop shops like Ulta and LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton S.A. s (EPA:MC) Sephora. Finally, we will follow Sephora s presence in J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (JCP) stores. Additional research by Jacqueline Fox, Tina Strasser and Erica Franklin 4

5 The Author(s) of this research report certify that all of the views expressed in the report accurately reflect their personal views about any and all of the subject securities and that no part of the Author(s) compensation was, is or will be, directly or indirectly, related to the specific recommendations or views in this report. The Author does not own securities in any of the aforementioned companies. OTA Financial Group LP has a membership interest in Blueshift Research LLC. OTA LLC, an SEC registered broker dealer subsidiary of OTA Financial Group LP, has both market making and proprietary trading operations on several exchanges and alternative trading systems. The affiliated companies of the OTA Financial Group LP, including OTA LLC, its principals, employees or clients may have an interest in the securities discussed herein, in securities of other issuers in other industries, may provide bids and offers of the subject companies and may act as principal in connection with such transactions. Craig Gordon, the founder of Blueshift, has an investment in OTA Financial Group LP Blueshift Research LLC. All rights reserved. This transmission was produced for the exclusive use of Blueshift Research LLC, and may not be reproduced or relied upon, in whole or in part, without Blueshift s written consent. The information herein is not intended to be a complete analysis of every material fact in respect to any company or industry discussed. Blueshift Research is a trademarks owned by Blueshift Research LLC. 5