Ulta – “Beauty only Skin-Deep”

Pros

Young, fast-paced company with enthusiastic people. Definitely not the stale, old culture where employees go to sit complacently until retirement.

Sr. Management is very approachable and willing to listen to anyone at any level. At ULTA, you'll never find an "I'm too important to be bothered by you" attitude.

Younger culture also makes for more stylish and energetic people walking the halls.

Cons

Corporate benefits and culture are not up to par for professional career employees. For example, a Manager at HQ making a 6-figured salary *must* punch a time clock each day to prove he/she arrived to work.

Furthermore, there is no tuition reimbursement. No employee stock plan. No referral bonus. Anemic 401k program. No defined career development paths coupled with "need only" training policy. Minimal holiday schedule. Medical insurance beyond "employee only" is discouraged via lopsided pricing. Employees below Director-level are herded like cattle into cubicals of 2-3 people. Even Directors & VPs are only offered a single cubical. And, heck, the holiday party had a cash bar.

Lastly, staffing is "penny wise, pound foolish". Rather than expand headcount, ULTA will continuous pay outside consultants/vendors 3x the annual cost to supplement undersized teams.

Advice to Senior Management

Slow down! The current pace is reckless. Instead of opening a new store each week, how about investing in your existing staff, office, and technology. And recognize not all of your employees are the part-time 20-something girl behind the counter who plans to quit once school begins (or when Starbucks offers them a job).

You strive to have Wall Street respect you as a mature $1B public corporation. However, internally your environment is comparable to an overworked, no frills startup.