1540 ET - Walmart's growing beauty marketplace will likely hit Ulta Beauty, Jefferies analysts say in a research note. The retail giant isn't only adding popular skincare brands such as L'Oreal's La Roche-Posay. It is also adding four new in-house brands that it called premium --three haircare brands and a fragrance brand. Walmart's enhanced approach to its beauty category is expected to intensify pressure on Ulta as it contends with growing competition from Walmart's marketplace and Amazon.com, the analysts say. Ulta is planning for heavy investments this year, from which it expects to see benefits next year. However, the analysts believe it will be hard for Ulta to compete with Amazon and Walmart's marketplaces given the sophisticated infrastructure and online capabilities both companies have in place. (sabela.ojea@wsj.com; @sabelaojeaguix)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 21, 2025 15:40 ET (19:40 GMT)
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