The Target at 9870 Rea Road will add a dedicated beauty studio on Thursday, Sept. 10, making it one of five Charlotte-area stores selected for the retailer's new beauty format.

Target Beauty Studio replaces the chain's five-year partnership with Ulta Beauty, which ended in August. The new spaces will stock more than 1,600 products from 90 brands spanning skincare, makeup, haircare, fragrance, bath and body, and nails. More than two-thirds of those brands are new to Target, the company said in an Aug. 26 press release.

The Charlotte Observer reported that the other four Charlotte-area locations are on University City Boulevard, Metropolitan Avenue, Bayfield Parkway in Concord and Sam Furr Road in Huntersville. Nationwide, more than 600 stores will open the studios simultaneously.

Each studio will be staffed by dedicated beauty advisors offering personalized recommendations. A center table will anchor the space and rotate several times a year to spotlight new brands, starting with Lake & Skye fragrances.

Amanda Nusz, Target's senior vice president of merchandising, essentials and beauty, said in a statement that the studio lets shoppers restock favorites while discovering new and trending products.

The move fills a gap. Target and Ulta announced their shop-in-shop partnership in November 2020 and rolled it out in August 2021. Both companies mutually agreed a year ago not to renew the deal. Target's beauty sales grew 5% in 2024 even as overall merchandise sales dipped 0.9%, according to Mass Market Retailers.

Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData, told Retail Dive that Target's beauty business remains large without Ulta, though the split likely stung at first. Prestige beauty sales in the U.S. grew 7% year over year to $17.1 billion during the first half of 2026, and mass retail beauty sales rose 7% to $39.2 billion, according to Circana data cited by Retail Dive.

The studio launch is part of a broader investment push. Target unveiled a multiyear strategy in March that included $5 billion in capital spending for 2026 and more in-store changes than any year in the past decade, according to The Shelby Report.

Featured brands include Glamazon Beauty by celebrity makeup artist Kim Baker, Peta Jane Beauty by Peta Murgatroyd, and SARELLY, a Mexico City-based line whose co-founders called the Target launch "a major moment for Mexican beauty."

Target will hold in-store celebrations on Saturday, Sept. 26, from noon to 4 p.m. The first 100 guests at most stores will receive an exclusive Target Circle bonus for beauty purchases.