Hey Cowboys,
Happy Friday! We’re bringing you a fresh round of DTC, retail, tech, and ecommerce news to unpack.
Today’s lineup 👇 and stories.
What Makes a Brand Impossible to Ignore?
Four operators unpack how brands earn attention, win at retail, and turn customers into loyal fans.
Rabah Rahil - CMO, Tie
Josh Lekach - CEO, Sport Drink
Bob Phibbs - CEO, The Retail Doctor
Michael Morelli - Founder, Pawgen
TikTok Shop is Helping Ulta Win Gen Z
Ulta Beauty topped Wall Street on both lines Thursday with Q2 net sales up 8.9% to $3.03 billion and EPS up 13.3% to $6.55, well ahead of the $6.20 consensus, driving comparable sales growth of 3.8% and a raised full-year outlook. The retailer now projects annual sales growth of 6.7% to 7.2% and EPS of $28.70 to $29, crediting marketing and product investments, the Space NK acquisition, new stores, and a loyalty program that hit roughly 47 million active members.
The Rundown:
Q2 net sales rose 8.9% to $3.03 billion versus $2.96-2.99 billion expected, with net income climbing to $282 million from $260.9 million a year ago
EPS of $6.55 beat the roughly $6.20 estimate and grew 13.3%; operating income rose 10.1% to $379.6 million while gross margin dipped 10 basis points to 39.1%
Comparable sales grew 3.8%, though that marks a 290 basis point slowdown from the year-ago quarter
Full-year guidance moved up across the board: sales growth to 6.7%-7.2% from 6%-7%, comps to 3.2%-3.7%, operating profit growth to 8.3%-9.3%, and EPS to $28.70-$29 from $28.36-$28.80
Active loyalty members grew 3% to about 47 million with higher average spend per member
Ulta Beauty Marketplace closed the quarter with more than 450 brands and over 12,000 SKUs
Growth drivers include the Space NK acquisition in the UK and Ireland, a Mexico joint venture, a Middle East franchise, the Bath & Body Works rollout to 600+ stores that began July 12, and a planned Times Square flagship
Ulta officially exited its Target shop-in-shop partnership this month, ending a concept that debuted in 2021 amid Sephora's competing Kohl's expansion
The company raised its annual buyback target to $1.8 billion after repurchasing $791 million in stock in the first half
CEO Kecia Steelman flagged second-half caution on value-focused consumers and macro pressures, guiding H2 sales growth of 4%-5%
A year after cautious guidance and margin worries dragged the stock, Ulta's Unleashed strategy is producing beats big enough to raise every number in the outlook, with loyalty, marketplace, and international expansion all pulling in the same direction. The comp slowdown and Steelman's second-half caution are the asterisks, but the largest specialty beauty retailer in the U.S. just showed the beauty consumer is still spending, and it is winning more of that spend.
Top Stories: Good Good vs. Callaway, Ninja Goes Viral, BrewDog Gives Equity to Customers
Good Good Turns on Callaway - Good Good CEO Matt Kendrick accused Callaway of approving the controversial ad before ending their partnership and donating $1 million to organizations supporting women. Kendrick suggested the company could pursue legal action and called for a boycott of Callaway. The PGA Tour also announced that Good Good will no longer sponsor its November event in Texas.
Ninja’s $200 Filter Goes Viral - SharkNinja’s new $199.99 HydraSense water filter is gaining traction on TikTok and Instagram through creator videos showing it filtering unusual liquids like pickle juice and Sunny D. The countertop system is certified to reduce more than 80 contaminants, including PFAS, lead, microplastics, and pharmaceuticals. It also dispenses water up to six times faster than the leading pitcher filter.
BrewDog Founder Gives Equity to Customers - BrewDog co-founder James Watt launched Fool’s Fix, a sparkling electrolyte recovery drink, with a unique customer ownership model. The first 20,000 customers will receive free shares representing 10% of the company, along with other perks. The brand is launching in the UK, with plans to expand to Europe and the U.S.
Build a Better Affiliate Program with SATHI
Your affiliate program looks fine on paper… Commissions going out, sales coming in. But you have this nagging feeling that you cannot explain what it is worth if someone put you on the spot in a budget meeting.
That feeling exists because every platform in this space was built around one thing: last click. Whoever gets clicked last gets the commission.
SATHI is the first affiliate platform built on multi-touch attribution. Cookieless. Shopify-native. It surfaces who introduced the customer, who nurtured them, who closed the sale. So you are no longer looking at a flat list of commission payouts. You have a map of how your affiliate channel moves people through a buying decision.
→ Go to https://www.mysathi.io/champions/ecomm-cowboy for 20% OFF
Ecomm Cowboy is the go-to live show for ecommerce operators, breaking down the latest DTC, retail, and AI news while interviewing the founders and executives building today's fastest-growing brands.
We’re live every Monday to Friday at 12PM CT.
Have questions or want to come on the show? Simply reply to this email, we’re happy to chat.
Made Possible By:
Seguno - the Shopify-native marketing suite for brands that run it themselves.
Insense - The all-in-one UGC and influencer marketing platform.
Postscript - Make more money from every SMS message.
Proxima - Use real conversion data to power your creative briefs.
Northbeam - Measure the “unmeasurable,” make your marketing profitable.
Rokt Aftersell - More profit from the orders you’re already getting.
Universal Ads - TV ads that deliver for performance marketers.
Richpanel - The AI helpdesk that saves you headaches (and money).
SATHI - Affiliate attribution beyond last-click commissions.
Slash - A better business banking platform.
Trendtrack - Track competitors' winning marketing strategies daily.
Tie - The internet’s #1 shopper ID platform.
Proppel - The best recruitment agency for ecom brands and agencies.
See you on the stream,
Ecomm Cowboy Team