Ulta, the retailer that typically facilitates makeovers, is getting one of its own, introducing a new layout to select stores this fall.

The new look may be bad news for those who have memorized the floor plan (just us?), but it will more strongly reflect how its consumers are shopping by uniting mass and prestige in one front-of-store section, Paul Loux, VP of store design and experience at Ulta, told Retail Brew.

CEO Dave Kimbell first announced the new layout on Ulta’s Q2 earnings call on August 25, saying the move would “elevate key growth categories.”

• Ulta reported strong Q2 earnings, with both prestige brands (like Fenty Beauty, MAC, and Clinique) and mass (like NYX, ColourPop, and E.l.f.) makeup and skin care brands delivering double-digit YoY sales gains.

While Ulta has historically bifurcated its prestige and mass offerings on either side of the store, (with fragrance in the middle and hair care and its salon toward the back) the two sections are being joined together at the front of the store—though still with delineation between the two.

Go with the glow: Beyond cosmetics, Ulta’s top-selling category, the new layout will feature a slew of other changes. Skin care is also on the move from the back to the front of the store, now positioned alongside makeup. This highlights the growing traction in the category, which was one of the best performing in Q2, per the company. The category is also of particular importance to Gen Z customers, Loux noted.

Keep reading here.—EC

For her NYFW Spring/Summer 2023 show, designer Rebecca Minkoff turned to, wait for it…a CGI presentation. Across several large rooms in an event space in Chelsea were life-size projections of models sporting her brand’s latest collection. In the other room, the real-life models stood by a wall, wearing the same looks.

Minkoff told Retail Brew the presentation was tied to the brand’s NFT partnership with Mavion. The idea behind integrating NFTs to such an extent in her collections is both to promote and introduce the brand to her customers.

• As part of the partnership, Minkoff dropped 55 NFTs in July, and five of those included access to Minkoff’s recent show. Others granted opportunities to have design sessions with Minkoff, among other experiential perks.
• These were preceded by another NFT release in September 2021.

“We are promoting it now because it takes time for people to understand what the eff an NFT is,” Minkoff told Retail Brew at her show. “I want my customers to embrace NFTs in the future and [understand] what that means for design as well. So we’re doing a lot of education, and a lot of messaging to my consumer to get her on board, because it’s not like you send one email, you put up an Instagram post, and people convert.”

Coming up: Minkoff joins several other designers that opened NYFW with NFT drops—including Altu by Altuzarra, Jonathan Simkhai, Kim Shui, AnOnlyChild, and The Blonds—all offering varied experiences and gifts to those who buy them.

While the metaverse and NFTs are becoming increasingly integrated with fashion, Minkoff believes it has some serious potential beyond attracting a younger set of consumers. “With anything new, it swells first and then settles,” she said. “But I think that NFTs are here to stay. It’s a way to build community loyalty, to get an entirely new customer, and it’s a way to offer something of value beyond the physical.”

She added that while she doesn’t see NFTs replacing fashion, they’ll act as an added pillar to brands who can use it to grant access. “I think I view it as a ticket to utility,” she said.—JS

Today’s top retail reads.

Meet your match: A Taiwanese beauty tech company launched an “AI Personality Finder,” which promises to read facial features, identify personality traits, and suggest beauty products. (The Information)

Legal playbook: The history of Johnson & Johnson’s infamous talc baby powder lawsuits, and why the future of those cases now rests with a bankruptcy judge in New Jersey. (the New Yorker)

Drinks up: Alcohol delivery is on the ballot in Colorado’s November elections in the form of an Instacart-backed measure that has raised over $8 million. (Colorado Sun)

So, what’s new in tech? Want more of the latest news at the intersection of tech and retail? Emerging Tech Brew covers the latest happenings, trends, and changes hitting the tech world, all in one place. Sign up here.*

^{*This is sponsored advertising content.}

What happened in the world of retail this week in…1875 and beyond? Retail Brew takes you way, way, way back.

• On September 13, 1955, George de Mestral was granted a patent for Velcro, which he called “velvet type fabric.”
• On September 13, 1963, Mary Kay Ash launched Mary Kay Inc. in Dallas, Texas.
• On September 16, 1875, James Cash Penny Jr., founder of J.C. Penney, was born.
• On September 18, 1981, the West Edmonton Mall in Canada made the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest parking lot.

Catch up on the Retail Brew stories you may have missed.

• Retailers plan to tackle the holiday shopping season
• Using computer vision to make shopping frictionless
• Misfits Market CEO on its acquisition of Imperfect Foods