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Sally Beauty's (SBH) Strategic Initiatives Aid Amid Soft Traffic

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Strength in the strategic growth pillar has been working for Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. (SBH - Free Report) . The beauty products provider is benefiting from its focus on customer-centric growth initiatives. The company’s recently introduced Happy Beauty Co. holds promise. That being said, Sally Beauty continues to battle macroeconomic challenges that are putting pressure on consumer spending.

Let’s delve deeper.

Strategic Growth Efforts

Sally Beauty is focused on its three key strategic initiatives, which include enhancing customer centricity, growing high-margin-owned brands and carrying out innovations while increasing the efficiency of operations and optimizing its capabilities. Talking about innovation, the company has an impressive pipeline of innovation in the Sally Beauty segment.

The company’s broad-based store optimization program helped in increasing productivity and profitability by delivering an engaging omnichannel experience for customers. The Fuel for Growth initiative keeps Sally Beauty well-positioned to capture gross margin and SG&A gains while undertaking growth and returning shareholders’ value. Management is on track to capture pre-tax benefits of $20 million from the program in the fiscal 2024.

Taking about customer-centric efforts, the company is focused on acquiring new customers via marketing programs, differentiated product offerings, and strategic initiatives. In the first quarter of fiscal 2024, the company generated 77% of sales from 16 million Sally U.S. and Canada loyalty members. Also, the BSG Rewards credit card purchases contributed 8% to sales.

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Happy Beauty Holds Promise

Sally Beauty is progressing with Happy Beauty Co., a unique new retail store concept that brings an engaging beauty experience to market with a value price point offering. Happy Beauty offers quality beauty at great prices in an accessible, fun and expressive environment. With a strong record of product and brand development, the company is exercising this muscle to bring compelling value alternatives to well-known premium-priced products to customers. At the end of the fiscal 2023, management had 10 pilot stores in operation, which delivered impressive results.

Is All Rosy for Sally Beauty?

Sally Beauty is operating amid challenging macroeconomic challenges that are exerting pressure on consumer spending. Management is battling soft customer traffic and inflationary pressures. The unfavorable impact of store closures from the Store Optimization Program has been hurting the company for a while. These challenges hurt fiscal first-quarter results, with the top and the bottom lines declining year over year.

Rising selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses continue to hurt the company. In the fiscal first quarter, Sally Beauty’s adjusted SG&A expenses increased due to labor costs, rent expenses and other costs associated with strategic initiatives. Management expects fiscal 2024 SG&A dollars to be up modestly on increased labor costs and investments in upper funnel marketing and other expenses related to strategic growth initiatives. That being said, the company’s upsides mentioned are likely to keep aiding growth.

Shares of the Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company have gained 47% in the past three months compared with the industry’s 40.6% growth.

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