Pure Beauty

Retailer shares drop as Amazon muscles into professional beauty

By Sarah Parsons | Published: 1-Jul-2019

The online e-commerce giant's new platform for hair stylists and beauticians has been a blow to Ulta and Sally Beauty

Shares of specialist beauty retailers are yet to recover after Amazon announced it has launched a platform for professional hair stylists, barbers and beauticians.

The Amazon Professional Beauty Store stocks brands typically found in salons and spas, such as OPI, Nioxin, Wella and Amika.

Following the news, shares in Sally Beauty Holdings, a US professional beauty supplier, and Ulta Beauty sank by 17% and 3% respectively. Neither retailer has fully recovered.

To gain access to the products on Amazon, stylists can create a free business account with the retail giant and upload their licence to prove their qualification.

According to Amazon, the expansion aims to address the issue that stores may be owned by major brands and, therefore have few competing products, with no price comparison.

Steve Kann, Director of Customer Driven Experience, Amazon Business, said: “Stylists can find more of what they need at great prices with convenient delivery options, freeing up their time to focus on what's important: their customers.”


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