Target ended its Ulta Beauty partnership in January 2025 and replaced it with a standalone beauty section across stores and online. According to Modern Retail, that shift pulled in 17 brands that had never sold at Target before, and for several, marked their first placement in physical retail entirely.

The mechanics: Target created a dedicated beauty zone with simpler vendor terms and faster onboarding. Brands that previously sold only direct-to-consumer or through specialty channels could now access Target's 1,900+ stores without the merchandising overhead or royalty split that came with the Ulta shop-in-shop model. The retailer also synchronized the assortment online, so a brand joining the beauty section gained both shelf presence and placement on Target.com in a single contract.

Why it worked comes down to barrier removal. The Ulta partnership required brands to meet Ulta's vendor standards and absorb the costs of staffing and fixtures inside Target stores. The new beauty section eliminated those layers. Target handled merchandising and inventory directly, and brands paid standard Target wholesale terms. For emerging labels, especially those with proven direct-to-consumer traction but no retail distribution, the model turned shelf access from a multi-quarter negotiation into a single yes. The timing mattered too: consumers shopping Target for household goods already over-index on beauty purchases, so brands walked into an audience primed to convert.

The steal for a small physical-product brand: if you run a consumable or personal-care product with decent unit economics and regional proof, use this pattern to approach mid-tier retail without waiting for the buyer to find you. First, document your direct sales: build a one-pager showing 12 months of revenue, your repeat rate, and your landed cost per unit. Second, identify retailers that recently restructured a category or ended a partnership—those windows create space for new vendors because the buyer has empty pegs and a mandate to fill them fast. Third, pitch the sell-through guarantee: offer to start with a 90-day test in 10-25 doors, you cover the cost of any unsold units, and the retailer keeps standard margin. That flips the risk. You pay only if it fails, they gain new assortment without inventory gamble, and you get proof of concept on shelf. Run it in one region, pull the data, then use that result to expand or pitch the next chain.

The broader pattern: when a major retailer exits a partnership, the replacement period is the highest-yield moment for new brands to enter. Buyers move fast, approval cycles compress, and the retailer actively seeks differentiation from the old model. Track partnership announcements and terminations in your category, then move in the 60-90 day window after the split goes public.