It is early $2022,$ and the Board of Directors of Ulta Beauty has employed you as a consultant to

determine the future path for the company in $2023.$ Put simply, Ulta Beauty was at a crossroads.

While the world had largely recovered from the COVID$-19$ pandemic, retailers such as Ulta

Beauty were reeling from the dramatic changes in their competitive environment. Consumers

had sharply altered their buying pattens, and as a result, Ulta Beauty was attempting to determine

their best path forward. Among the options that CEO Dave Kimbell and the Ulta Beauty Board

of Directors were considering was a deeper push into online sales, an expansion of their storewithin$-$a$-$store concept, and a company wide cost savings initiative.

The question was: what to do$?$ Ulta Beauty$$s Board has requested that you evaluate the company

and its operations and assist the board in setting strategic direction in $2022.$ The board has

requested a report that $($a$)$ describes the three top strategic issues for the company that

management should address beginning in $2022,$ and $($b$)$ provides three recommendations for

management regarding how the company should begin to address these identified strategic

issues. Ulta Beauty$$s board acknowledges that the company faces more than three strategic

issues in $2022$ and requests you prioritize the top three issues in order to focus management$$s

attention on the most pressing priorities.