The beauty industry has been seeking a balance between retail stores and digital sales. In this market, physical stores are crucial for original sales.
For example, if I wanted to know the right shade of makeup to look less shiny or blushing on camera, I would go to a beauty supply store or a department store with a beauty counter to find the right answer.
However, once I knew what I wanted to buy, a physical store became less necessary, or entirely unnecessary.
The $450 billion global beauty industry has been growing, but it’s also changing, according to McKinsey’s “The State of Beauty 2025: Solving the Changing Growth Conundrum” report.
The data shows: “For years, a seemingly insatiable sense of novelty in the beauty industry has driven strong volume and greater price growth, with the industry growing 7% annually from 2022 to 2024. Now, geopolitical and economic uncertainty, market saturation, and changing consumer preferences threaten this progress, requiring industry leaders to develop new growth strategies.”
However, digital retailers are emerging.
More retail:
McKinsey reports: “The channel landscape is also changing. By 2030, we expect online channels to account for nearly one-third of global beauty product sales (26% in 2024), the highest share of all channels. Specialty retailers and single-brand stores are likely to maintain their sales share, while department stores and drug stores are likely to lose their sales share.”
This changing market has led to continued struggles for Beauty Brands, which survived Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019 but has closed stores in 2025.
While stores at some local chains and national retailers have closed, the biggest blow to the brick-and-mortar beauty industry was the end of their partnership between Ulta Beauty and Target in August 2026.
“Staffing needs, loyalty program synergies, shrinkage and [return on invested capital] That could be a key consideration, TD Cowen analysts said in a note shared with Retail Dive, which also mentioned “conscious decoupling.”
Ulta Beauty will close all Target stores by August 2026.Shutterstock
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On August 14, 2025, Ulta Beauty and Target jointly announced that they would not renew the “Ulta Beauty at Target” partnership; the current agreement will be August 2026according to an Ulta Beauty press release.
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Ulta mini-stores within Target and Target-Ulta’s integrated online/omnichannel services will continue to operate through the expiration date, the companies said in a joint Business Wire news release.
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The partnership began in 2021 and its peak years included Over 600 Ulta store-in-store locations at Target stores nationwide, according to CNBC.
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According to a company statement, the decision was made jointly. Target said it will “continue to offer differentiated beauty products” after the partnership ends; Ulta Beauty said it will focus on its core omnichannel business, including a planned standalone “Ulta Beauty Marketplace.”
Some pointed to anti-theft measures and inventory issues as reasons for the breakup.
Retail Dive reports: “Target has been addressing out-of-stock items more broadly since partnering with Ulta in 2021. Similar to other large retailers dealing with theft, Target has also increased its use of locked-down items, including beauty products, since the partnership began.”
While the end of the Ulta Beauty and Target partnership may have been the biggest headline in the physical beauty industry this year, Beauty Brands has also been closing stores selectively.
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The 2025 closure is part of a broader retrenchment at Beauty Brands following previous financial troubles, including a history of bankruptcy, according to Bloomberg.
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Beauty Brands will close two stores in the Kansas City metro area, located in Shawnee (15320 Shawnee Mission Parkway) and Country Club Plaza (438 Ward Parkway), with final closing dates of December 28, 2025Yahoo reports.
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Acast revealed that another location in Lawrence, Kansas is also scheduled to permanently close on December 28, 2025.
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Beauty Brands leadership said that while the stores will be closed, many of the stores’ “salon professionals and managers” are being relocated to other Beauty Brands locations. The Kansas City Star reported on Yahoo.
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Chapter 11 Application Date: According to PacerMonitor, Beauty Brands filed for Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in early January 2019.
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Enterprise preparation scaleCole Schotz added: At the time, Beauty Brands operated approximately 58 retail locations in 12 states.
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Store Closure and Liquidation Plan: Prior to the filing, Beauty Brands had already closed 25 underperforming stores, Retail Dive reported.
Beauty Brands has not disclosed a timetable for closing all its stores, but the company currently operates 15 stores in three states, down significantly from its peak of 58 stores in 12 states.
“If you would like to visit Beauty Brands, we operate 15 company-owned stores in Illinois, Kansas and Missouri. We employ more than 600 specially trained and knowledgeable customer service associates and salon professionals at these locations,” the company says on its website.
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This article was originally published by TheStreet on December 13, 2025, and first appeared in the Retail section. Click here to add TheStreet as your preferred source.
