The Future of Retail: Why Analog Experiences are Making a Comeback

Summary

Podcast Summary: The GaryVee Audio Experience Episode Title: The Future of Retail: Why Analog Experiences are Making a Comeback
Date: April 22, 2026
Host: Gary Vaynerchuk
Guest/Co-host: Kelly (Ulta Beauty Field Leader)
Location: Live session with Ulta Beauty field leaders in Orlando

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Episode Overview

This episode features Gary Vaynerchuk in conversation with Ulta Beauty’s leadership, exploring the evolving landscape of retail. Gary delves into his personal and professional history in retail, leadership philosophies, and his bullish outlook on analog experiences making a comeback in a digital age. Together with Kelly from Ulta Beauty, he discusses the intersection of technology and in-person retail, actionable leadership advice, and the importance of grace and accountability.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Gary’s Origin Story and Lessons from Retail

[01:54-09:19]

• Gary recounts his upbringing in the Soviet Union, crediting his strong sense of accountability and optimism to his mother.
  • “I am the byproduct of her. She taught me everything that really matters. First and foremost, accountability.” — Gary Vaynerchuk [02:28]
• Describes the harsh realities of immigrant life and how gratitude shaped his attitude toward money and business.
• Shares formative experiences working in his family's liquor store; from bagging ice in the basement to running the business and transforming it from $3M to $60M in sales.
  • “Everything I am in my professional skills career was learned in a retail store. So much so that the number one piece of advice that I give...is that everybody should spend one year in retail.” — Gary Vaynerchuk [09:00]

2. Leadership: Love, Trust & Accountability

[09:54-22:15]

• Gary contrasts the fear-based culture his father imported from Soviet upbringing to the warmth and trust he prioritized as a manager.
  • “My number one job in life today as a personal brand, my 55 million followers...My number one job when I woke up this morning is to eliminate fear.” — Gary Vaynerchuk [12:47]
• Emphasizes that building trust relies on authenticity: only promise what you actually control.
  • “One of the great mistakes this room can make is saying something that they don’t have control of, executing on. It’s important.” — Gary Vaynerchuk [17:35]
• Introduces the term “kind candor” as a way to deliver critical feedback with empathy.
• Warns about the detriment of overprotecting and failing to be candid when necessary.

3. State & Future of Retail: Analog Comeback

[22:54-29:42]

• Gary predicts an extreme “barbell effect” for retail: hyper-digital on one end, and a renewed focus on real-world, analog experiences on the other.
  • “I think as we go more 2050, I’m also seeing the emergence of 1950.” — Gary Vaynerchuk [23:06]
• Cites cultural trends:
  • Resurgence of vinyl record sales, younger generations requesting analog phones, and growing skepticism of technology among Gen Alpha.
• Stresses the importance of in-person experiences and predicts stores will need to evolve:
  • More experiential spaces, live shopping studios, events, and blending wellness and beauty.
  • “Being a place where you just come to buy something and leave, that’s a thing of the past. I think we need to get really thoughtful of, like, why would they come instead of just swiping something here?” — Gary Vaynerchuk [28:35]
• Discusses the value of content creation in-store, predicting stores will double as studios for social and live shopping.

4. Advice for Retail Leaders: Control, Empathy, and Grace

[30:24-35:13]

• Gary’s core advice: Focus on what you can control, rather than getting bogged down by organizational or external limitations.
  • “The number one piece of advice I have is you can only control what you can control.” — Gary Vaynerchuk [31:02]
• Explains the crucial difference between entrepreneurial control and the realities faced by leaders who are not the business owners.
  • “If you’re so unstoppable and awesome, quit and go start a beauty store.” — Gary Vaynerchuk [33:44]
• Highlights the necessity of grace—both self-grace and extending grace to colleagues and leadership.
  • “You won’t be able to give corporate or Kelly or anybody else grace unless you start with giving yourself grace.” — Gary Vaynerchuk [34:19]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Accountability and Upbringing
  • “If I even thought about disrespecting her, my face would tweak just a little. And this was the 80s. My mom would smack my face.” — Gary Vaynerchuk [04:45]
• On Eliminating Fear in Leadership
  • “My number one job...is to eliminate fear. I believe that it is short-term effective and long-term detrimental.” — Gary Vaynerchuk [12:47]
• On Kind Candor
  • “There’s a way to deliver critical, even negative feedback with grace and empathy. And it’s really worked for us.” — Gary Vaynerchuk [21:13]
• On Retail’s Barbell Future
  • “Every store within a decade is going to be a studio for content and live shopping...But ironically, as we go more 2050, I’m also seeing the emergence of 1950.” — Gary Vaynerchuk [23:06]
• On Why Customers Return
  • “You recommend something to somebody that costs them less, that is more effective, you win forever.” — Gary Vaynerchuk [15:33]
• On Grace
  • “Giving yourself more grace will allow you to give people more grace around you.” — Gary Vaynerchuk [34:19]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:54-09:19] — Gary’s Retail Origin Story & Key Early Lessons
• [09:54-22:15] — Leadership Styles: From Fear-Based to Trust & “Kind Candor”
• [22:54-29:42] — The Future of Retail: Analog Experiences, Digital Content, and Why In-Person is Back
• [30:24-35:13] — Actionable Advice for Retail Leaders: Control, Empathy, and Embracing Grace

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Episode Tone and Highlights

Gary is candid, energetic, and empathetic, blending humor and humility (“Let’s clap it up for shitting on Gen Z” [25:12]) with direct encouragement. He is consistently passionate about the importance of people in business, delivers actionable leadership insight, and pushes for a thoughtful, experiential approach to the future of retail.

Listeners leave with a sense of optimism for brick-and-mortar, a challenge to lead with love, and tools to adapt to a rapidly evolving marketplace. This episode is a must-listen for anyone in retail leadership or those interested in the intersection of culture, technology, and business.

Transcript

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Are starting to get a little fatigued. And so you're seeing sports, concerts going to stores, rising slowly but surely. You see weird numbers. Like vinyl records had its biggest sales in like 30 years. Some people here might have been part of the group where this last Christmas, we tracked over 20,000 social media posts where a 12 to 14 year old asked for an analog phone instead of a smartphone. Gen Alpha sees Gen Z and they don't want to be like that. Gen Alpha does see it two ways. One, they think their older siblings are entitled and soft, which is probably a good thing for the future. But they're also more cynical to technology. And I think that I'm incredibly bullish analog. I'm incredibly bullish the real world. But just because that macro trend is happening, we still have a lot of work to do. This is the GaryVee audio experience,

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

for starters. Gary, I'm so thrilled. You are a busy guy. If you follow Gary, you guys know Gary's out and about. He's everywhere. I am so grateful that you thought it was important enough to come to Orlando with our field leaders and everybody here. That is the heartbeat of Ulta Beauty, to talk to us for a few minutes just about you, about leadership, also about what you're seeing in retail. I think one thing that I've had the pleasure of getting to know you is I know you believe what we believe, which is business is about people, and people power business. So I'm just really excited to kind of dive in. It's just me, you and me, like normal.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

What about people?

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

There's maybe 2,000 of our closest friends. Like, does that matter? You cool with that?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Wait, we have whistles.

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

Yes.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And bells. Oh, my God.

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

This is gonna be a morning. Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to be here.

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

Awesome. Well, what I wanted to do is just for our friends here.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yep.

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

Talk to us about how Gary became Gary. You have quite a story, and I think it's really fascinating.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Well, I'm. You know, it's actually fun to answer this, given that the agency that we just started, the partnership we just announced, Tamar is actually named after my mother. Gary is Gary on the back of the world's single greatest mother. I was born in the Soviet Union and immigrated to the US When I was three. And, you know, it's really amazing to be in a point of your career where you're getting all these accolades, such a nice, warm welcome and all the vibes, but the reality is that I'm just the vessel, meaning all the cheering, all the accolades, all the articles is a huge indication of my mom. Right. I am the byproduct of her. She taught me everything that really matters. First and foremost, accountability. My mother, modern parenting is very challenging. I know a lot of us are going through it. What my mom did that I think is so impossible is she made me feel like I was the greatest human on earth. I was fully capable of absolutely anything. But what she did that I think has been a lost art, is when I got out of pocket or I messed up, she didn't play around. You know, I think we, my kids

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

are in the audience right now. Okay, anyone relate to, you know, Kelly?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

It's really real though. Like, you know, and really, it's funny, especially with so many, you know, I was a store manager. I ran a store for 20 years. And finding that balance of really loving your employees and making them feel like it's a little bit more than a job, but finding that fine line where you can hold them accountable was impossibly hard. I was a 20 year old doing that with the employees that were my friends that I was hanging out with out of work. So I have a lot of empathy and compassion of everyone in this room trying to find that balance. But I'm a classic immigrant story, right? Other than I was a terrible student, like all the other kids that came from Russia were getting as and going to Harvard. I was getting D's and F's.

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

How did your mom feel about that, Gary?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Well, she punished me every four report cards. I mean, you know, back in the, you know, now kids don't get grounded or anything. Back in the day, like two weeks, no friends, no outside, no Nintendo, no tv.

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

Is this how you got so curious? Is this the secret?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

No, it's how I've become so grateful. Because when you're in jail for two weeks, when you get out, you're thrilled. And then again, and I feel like a lot of people here can resonate, you know, not only was I grounded and I had to eat it, this is how I became accountable. If I even. I was. Hell, I was scared to even think about disrespecting my mom. Forget about disrespecting her. And I have a funny feeling, feeling the vibes. Some of. You know, if I even thought about disrespecting her, my face would tweak just a little. And this was the 80s. My mom would smack my face. So anyway, I think, you know, and then at 14, you know, so I was getting D's and F's. But I was getting D's and Fs and entrepreneurship and business is cool. Now, some of you that grew up in the 70s, 80s, 90s, no, it wasn't as real back then. The word wasn't running around. We didn't think about kids as whiz kids making money back then. I was getting D's and F's. But at 14, I was making $1,000 a weekend selling baseball cards in the malls of New Jersey. And I don't know about you guys, but at 14, I had like $17,000 in cash under my bed. And when you're 14 and you have 17 racks under your bed and you're not selling weed, you're doing a good job. But then back to retail. Then my life took a crazy turn. I'm making 1,000 a weekend. At 14, I'm like living. And now all of a sudden, 14th birthday, oldest son, only child that was born in the old country. My dad went from being a stock boy in a liquor store making two bucks an hour in Clark, New Jersey to saving money for nine years. I went on one family vacation in my childhood in Orlando.

[Podcast Announcer]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

But didn't stay at the nice High. I'd stayed at the Holiday Inn. My family didn't believe in credit cards because we were immigrants. My mom ran out of cash on the third day of a seven day Disney trip. So, you know, I got very fortunate. I talk about this all the time. Who am I? What is it? How is it when you are built on gratitude? Because you understand, and this is the number one thing I wish on people outside of health. I wish on everyone to be born into a family that has little financially but has nothing but love. Because by the time you're seven and eight, right? By the time, by the time you're seven or eight, you know that money isn't the gateway to happiness. You have happiness, it changes your relationship with money. Unfortunately, so many people in the world think that money changes the outcome. Money exposes your outcome. If you're in a bad place, money's gonna put you in a worse place. Money's the great accelerator. Money's the great exposer. And so at 14, my life took a hard turn. I went from making all that money to now I have to work at my dad's liquor store. I get paid two bucks an hour. I'm in the basement of the liquor store bagging ice for 10 hours a day. Kelly, did you see Goonies?

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

I love Goonies.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Me too. How many people here by show of hands have seen Goonies? From 14 to 16, I was sloth. I was literally chained to the basement of my father's liquor store making 20 bucks a day bagging ice. At 16, I was finally allowed upstairs and then really lived the life that I so associate with all of you. Stocking shelves, watching customers so much came natural to me that wasn't taught. I would watch how customers would walk through the stores. I would think about end caps and merchandising when I didn't even know what that word was or even had heard of it. And I will tell you that everything I am in my professional skills career was learned in a retail store. So much so that the number one piece of advice that I give to so many of my friends that have young children like 15, 16, 17, 18. I actually genuinely believe that everybody should spend one year in retail.

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

I love that. I love that.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And this is more bells, more cowbell.

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

This is the store that you turned in. You made it 3 million. It went from 3 million to 60 million. Is that right?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

That's right. By the way, I was pretty upset. I don't think you guys cheered enough when she said that.

[Podcast Announcer]

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[Ross Store Advertiser]

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[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I have a funny feeling if anybody here 20x'd their retail store, good shit would happen.

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

Nice. How'd you do it? What was the secret?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

So many things you know. I love my dad with my whole heart. And you've met my parents at Cannes. You know my relationship with them. How do I say this nicely? My father managed his store before I got there. Like a Soviet. If you don't know what that means. My parents grew up in the Soviet Union. Communism. There's a reason people are Scared of socialism and communism. It's scary. And what I mean by that is my parents lived in fear until they immigrated to America. Everyone's in fear in the Soviet Union. And one of the things that happened, I don't know if you know this, but the government owns everything. That would be as if America, the government, owned Ulta Beauty, owned everything, right? And so what ends up happening in communism is everything becomes the black market. How does a black market form? People steal. Everyone steals all the time. So my father grew up in an environment where everyone stole from every store and everything. Now he has his own store in America. I lived 45 minutes from my family wine store when I started working there. My dad is the opposite of me in a lot of ways. And one of them is I talk all the time. My father barely talks. We drove. This is the first day I work in my dad's store. We drive 45 minutes to the store. This is the first day I ever worked for my father. This man doesn't say a damn word to me.

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

I can't imagine that game.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Not a word. Doesn't say a word. We pull up. This is my starting point of retail. We pull up to the store, we park. He turns to me, back to another movie reference. Did anybody see Rocky IV with Drago? My father's accent is like Drago. He Literally, I'm 14, I'm a baby. He turns and looks at me and he goes, keep an eye on the employees. They steal. That was the culture of my dad's store. Now I come along. You know, I'm my mother's son. It's all rainbows and sunshine. It's all love. It's all warmth. And the way I built that business was first, I unscared everyone. I mean it as like a 15, 16. And really, when I really started running at 18, 19, 20, 22, my number one job in life today as a personal brand, my 55 million followers. The post I just posted on Instagram in the green room. I as a leader for my 6,000 employees across all my companies. My number one job when I woke up this morning is to eliminate fear. I believe the world is in a very peculiar place where companies, media outlets, politicians, bosses, most leaders on earth, parents, most leaders on earth weaponize fear to keep people on track. I believe that it is short term effective and long term detrimental. And so thank you. So first, I just made people feel like the people that owned the liquor store cared. And by the way, to remind you, this was at the time when I started 11 employees making $5.50 an hour, which was Jersey's minimum wage back then. As I built that to a couple hundred people, everybody felt safe. You know, I won it on merchandising. I won it on salesmanship. You know, we were in a fun category similar to yours, which was people would come in for a product they thought they wanted, but we had the ability to change their mind. You would come in and try to buy Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio. Who drinks Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio in here? Raise your hands. Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio. Cool. For the nine of you, stop drinking. It's overpriced. Overpriced, overpriced. And so people would come in and be like, I want Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio, or Kendall Jackson Chardonnay, or, as the years evolved, Yellowtail, or the rosette of the moment. Right now, everyone's drinking too much Sancerre, all that crap, you know? And I would have the ability to be like, hey, try this. It's less cost, a little bit better, and we want it through trust. The biggest opportunity when I analyze this business is the opportunity at the store level to recommend something else that might be better for that employee. If you're educated enough for that consumer. Excuse me. If you're educated enough to know what they're looking for and what is a better option, God willing, that product is even less expensive. It's game over. You recommend something to somebody that costs them less, that is more effective, you win forever. And you know this as a marketer, right? Like, our number one thing that when you first met me was, hey, everybody. Hope you're enjoying the podcast right now. Make sure you follow the podcast. That's why I'm interrupting. Let's keep going on this show, but follow the podcast. It'll make my mom super happy. I want you to spend less money.

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

You said that.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

On things that don't work. And that's always happening. And so we won, ultimately, on Love and trust. And when you start deploying Love and trust, two weird things happen, which are very weird and delicious. One, you keep your employees longer, and the more retention you have in a store, the more likely your store will be better. And two, you have more return customers in ltv because the more a customer trusts and feels like you give a crap, the more likely they will go to you versus the competitor.

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

Well, I have a question. Yeah, I have a question about that, Gary, because how do you love. How do you Create this environment of love and trust when you have to hold people accountable and you have to measure results. And sometimes people don't always perform.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah. Look, I'm not Mother Teresa. Like, you know, first of all, you first of all. And this is actually. Actually, this is really important, y'.

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

All.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

The first way you actually build love and trust before we even get into accountability is you actually have to mean it.

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

Yes.

[Podcast Announcer]

Little bit more.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I'm gonna say something pretty important. I hope everyone remembers this. There are times, because of the P and L, because of the reality of business, that I'm not able to go to the place that I want to emotionally. And if that is true, then I don't say anything. One of the great mistakes this room can make is saying something that they don't have control of, executing on. It's important. It's important. Like, I'm empathetic, right? Like, obviously, anybody in this auditorium is quite senior, but unlike my life, I have no board. I'm not publicly traded when I make mistakes and decisions. When I make a mistake, I go to the bathroom, look myself in the mirror, and say, you're an idiot. Here. Just like so many of my great leaders, I always tell them, I'm like, hey, if you have control over something and you want to be kind or gracious, run. If it's within your T and E, it's within your ability to make that decision, run. But if it's a decision you can't make and it's on me or somebody in between me and you, you need to shut your mouth, because you will lose trust. When you say things like, I got you, and then that person gets fired, well, then everybody else is like, you don't have anything. And so I think first it's about managing your words and being able to talk about things you can actually do versus what your own ego or. Or your kindness of your heart wishes you could. So you need to be very disciplined on that. And then as far as what? Listen, I have so much love and warmth and want it all. Kumbaya and team. There's no question. Throughout my career, there's been pockets where I've created entitlement and Nepo DNA. And our corporation has changed once we stood up a term called kind candor. You know, candor's important. You know, my greatest weakness in my career was not on stage. I can keep it very real. But once you work for me, like, by the third day, I'm like, we're family, right? Like, I go into that mode.

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

You do that to Your clients too, by the way.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I do. I just don't know any other way. I was again, raised by a mother. Like, everything was. Strangers were treated like family strangers.

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

Amazing.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I don't know anything else. Like, everything else is foreign to me. I could give a crap about how much money you have or followers you have or status you have. Like, I just love people, so I can't help it. But there are ramifications where when in my 20s, 30s, and even into my 40s, if I loved you, it was hard for me to tell you the full truth because I was scared to scare you. I thought me telling you that you're not doing a good job would lead to you, like, leaving the office and being petrified and going to LinkedIn and start to update your profile, you know, and I. Everything that has been bad in my personal and professional life has been completely predicated on the inability to be canderous with someone. But over the last five or six years, you know, this is what's great about growing up. Along the way, you fix things, you can get better. And I could not implore more of you that also have a bleeding heart and maybe struggle with critical feedback. This term kind candor really worked. There's a way to deliver critical, even negative feedback with grace and empathy. And it's really worked for us.

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

Amazing, Gary. I really appreciate that. Yes, they all can relate.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

It's hard. And again, this is what's so great of 20 years in retail. It's especially hard for this crew. Yes, it's one thing when your direct reports make hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars in corporate and they're professionals. You know, you start going into hourly wages. You know, some people are young, other people are like, you know, you know what's going. You know, do you know how hard it is? Let me phrase this room knows how hard it is when they know what that person's dealing with at home. Right. It's really tough to be a hard ass when you're. The person that works in your store's late for 20 minutes because they have a really screwed up situation at home and they had to take care of their daughter. Like, it's a very challenging, emotional thing. And I will pick kindness over P and L every day of the week.

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

All right. Okay. Are you ready to shift some gears? All right, we're going to change some gears. We can't have Gary Vaynerchuk on the stage and not talk about where the heck we think retail is going. Am I right? Okay. So you are widely considered as One of the top thinkers across a lot of different industries. You are most definitely an innovator and the original creator, I would even say the OG creator. Right. So I want to ask, as you have all of us, all to 2,500 people here in the room that are focused every single day on running a retail business. Where do you think retail is going?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I think it's going to actually very good place. I'm so glad I get to answer this question now instead of five years ago where I was like. Couple of things that stand out to me. One, as, as AI continues to explode and it will. I think we're going into a very unique era in human behavior. I think in the next 24 to 36 months it won't be 2029. It'll feel more like 2050. I think it's going to accelerate very quickly with where we're going with technology. But ironically, and I think some of you are probably already starting to feel this as we go more 2050. I'm also seeing the emergence of 1950. Let me explain what I mean by that. I think the world of retail is going very barbell. I think we're going to go very extreme with AI. I think every store within a decade is going to be a studio for content and live shopping. I think there's so many cool things experiential. Right. I think the store's going to evolve into giving people more reason to come. So I think we'll go there. But what's really exciting is you can already see it. Humans are starting the first indications of starting to mitigate their digital footprint. We're starting to get a little fatigued. And so you're seeing sports, concerts going to stores rising slowly but surely. And I think that you see weird numbers like vinyl records had its biggest sales in like 30 years. Some people here might have been part of the group where this last Christmas we tracked over 20,000 social media posts where a 12 to 14 year old asked for an analog phone instead of a smartphone. Gen Alpha sees gen Z. These 12, 13, 14 year olds see their older siblings and they don't want to be like them. And so yeah, let's clap it up for shitting on Gen Z. But, but I, I think that's a good one. They all, they like that one.

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

Some of them lead a few Gen Zs in the audience.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah. And you know what's funny? I do study early consumer behavior. Gen Alpha does see it two ways. One, they think their older siblings are entitled and soft, which is probably a Good thing for the future. And there's plenty of Gen Z people that are gangsters. I mean, my company's loaded with Gen Z's that are gangsters. And by the way, on the record, on the record, I grew up with tons of boomers that were lazy as hell, But they're also more cynical to technology. Most of us grew up looking at the crowd where the advent of whether it was the Internet or the iPhone, these were remarkable technologies and did bring incredible change and good things. But everything in life is about balance. And I think that if you know, you know this. I'm starting a new startup that is a retail store.

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

Yes.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I'm incredibly bullish. Analog. I'm incredibly bullish. The real world. I think there's a lot of interesting stuff. But just because that macro trend is happening, we still have a lot of work to do here as a group to actually execute operationally to bring those experiences or value in the stores. But I'm very bullish. I'm also completely obsessed with live shopping. As you know, the QVC ification of social media is here. I'm sure you're paying attention, given the business you're in. That's another thing I'm paying a lot of attention to.

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

So is it the blend? I mean, we have 1600 stores across the United States. And so what I hear you saying is that.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Can we get some bells for that?

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

Yeah, we like to say this is a.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

By the way, I'm sorry to interrupt you. I'm definitely getting bells in my office. I like that. Go ahead.

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

So what I hear you say is that we have an opportunity, maybe as Ulta Beauty, to think about our stores as a way to bring social media to life.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes.

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

Is that a way to think about this?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, as you know, we're talking a lot about this, you and I. Yes. I mean, I think there's so much talent in the stores. I know that you've started to roll out some programs on this. Yeah, I mean, I think, to me, I think within the decade, y' all at the C Suite will start looking at the footprint and reallocating some of the selling space to some version of experiential space, whether that's a live shopping studio, whether that's, you know, I anticipate this company going more into overall wellness because you could just see wellness and beauty colliding. So, you know, the bell cringe likes that. Yeah. I just think it's about experience. I mean, I'd love to see my old world Bled into. I think you guys could crush wine night on Thursdays in the store.

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

That's a winner.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Promotion. Proms. I'm obsessed with prom.

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

There was a prom. As a matter of fact, there was a prom going on here at this hotel the day I came out.

[Podcast Announcer]

Yes.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I just. I'm thinking a lot about, you know, as we start to strategize, what can we own? Like, own, like, how do we just blow it? Like, instead of, like, incremental, like, oh, let's do, like, how do we jump nine steps?

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

We always come to Ulta Beauty for this.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah. I think prom is like, just like, let's just convince the entire culture that they have to visit us during that time of the year, which is nice because it's a good spring season. It's not Q4 when it's crazy. So I think there's a lot of ways to come up with reasons to come to the stores. You have such a massive footprint, but I think being a place where you just come to buy something and leave, that's a thing of the past. I think we need to start getting really thoughtful of, like, why would they come instead of just swiping something here? And I think we have the ability to transform with our partnership. I think we can comms that we can market, that we can let the whole world know. I think with this incredible team in place, if we set the strategy properly, execute, executing that over the next 12 to 48 months feels exciting and lucrative.

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

Nice. I mean, we're here for it, aren't we? We are. Well, on that note, I have a question. I have one more question before we get into lightning round, and that is you do have. And you described your. How you got your start. These are operators, these are entrepreneurs, and these are leaders that are driving results every single day. They are not only making sure that everything is merchandised well and they are stocking the shelves just like you talked about, but they're bringing that guest experience to life. And I think that's what makes the magic of the industry that we're in in beauty. It's so emotional, and it takes this. It just takes this touch, you know, that keeps the customer coming back. So what piece of advice? I mean, you built a whole career on this. What piece of advice do you have for them?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I have one real big one. And this is, like, fun to have both everyone that's in the trenches and corporate in the same building. So I want to make sure everyone's paying attention.

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

They're hearing.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

The biggest reason I'm Happy in life is one. I view life very simply, which is as long as my family is healthy, literally nothing else matters. So that level of simplicity. But after that, which is really something I highly recommend everybody get into mentally,

[Ross Store Advertiser]

I.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Hopefully we continue to stay healthy for a little bit. I do not cry about things I can't control. The number one piece of advice I have for this room is you can only control what you can control. Right? And like this is important. Look, I think it's awesome for you and your direct report or your boss to grab a coffee and crap all over corporate because you're frustrated with them about something.

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

Never, never happens right

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

where the bells. But I really do think that empathy is one of the great gifts if you have it. I'm sure this is not lost on anyone. Corporate is not trying to make it challenging. They just are dealing with what they're dealing with. I think one of the great mistakes that regional or general managers make in organizations is they get so caught up in what they can't control. In fact, it's the biggest issue in society right now. Everyone's pontificating about global politics as if they know something. Your life, let alone your career, gets a hell of a lot better when you focus everything on what you can actually control versus spending all of your time talking about what you don't control. Woo.

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

That's a microphone.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And with all due respect, you were right about everything. They are, but they are not entrepreneurs. They may be entrepreneurial, that's fair, right? You're entrepreneurial and that's amazing. But they don't have the gift. And the curse of what entrepreneurship is, the gift is you're fully in control. 100% of everything that is wrong in my companies is 100% my fault. The problem is that when you're not fully in control, you also have to deal with that energy. And I'm empathetic to that. But you can't control anything besides your decisions and your day to day. If you're so. If you're so frustrated about something and you're so unstoppable and awesome, quit and go start a beauty store.

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

And on that note, or maybe not, or maybe we like to have.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Hold on, Kel, hold on. We're getting real. It's early in Orlando. I'm going to end with this on this point. Before we go into speed round, I

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

just have one question for people. It's the most important one.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I can't wait. Grace. You need to give grace to the people around you most of all. Often the people above you. But you won't be able to give corporate or Kelly or anybody else grace unless you start with giving yourself grace. So I have a funny feeling, based on the energy, based on the homework I've done in this company over the last three or four years, this is a remarkable room. You're just a human. You're trying. And giving yourself more grace will allow you to give people more grace around you. The people that work for you, the people above you that are trying to make it happen, the people to the side of you. And so grace is an important word, and I hope you start going down that path a little bit more.

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

Nice. What a way to end. That's amazing, Gary. Thank you. Okay, this is the final question.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

This is the speed round. Final question.

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

Yes, we're gonna speed it up.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Understood.

[Kelly (Ulta Beauty Leader)]

Pino or keb?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

This is insane. Everybody, if you enjoyed this podcast, please go back and look at the prior episodes. They're loaded. I appreciate your attention and thanks for being part of this.

[Carrington College Announcer]

Your next chapter in healthcare starts at Carrington College's School of Nursing in Portland. Join us for our open house on Tuesday, January 13th from 4 to 7pm you'll tour our campus, see live demos, meet instructors, and learn about our associate degree in nursing program that prepares you to become a registered nurse. Take the first step toward your nursing career. Save your spot now at Carrington. Edu Events. For information on program outcomes, visit carrington.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Edu Sci Journey. See you later.