What Sally Beauty Holdings does

Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. is a NYSE-listed (ticker SBH) international specialty retailer and distributor of professional beauty supplies headquartered in Plano, Texas. The company operates through two principal segments: Sally Beauty Supply, which sells up to 7,000 hair color, hair care, nail, and skin care products through approximately 3,090 company-operated retail stores across 11 countries to retail consumers seeking salon-quality products at value prices; and Beauty Systems Group (BSG), which distributes up to 8,000 professionally branded products through 1,325 Cosmo Prof and Armstrong McCall stores (1,194 company-operated plus 131 franchise) and 590+ outside sales consultants serving professional salons and hairstylists for in-salon use and retail resale. The company is publicly traded since its 2006 spin-off from The Alberto-Culver Company and was originally founded in 1964.

The product portfolio combines a proprietary brand portfolio (Ion, Bondbar, Texture ID, Silk Elements, Strawberry Leopard, Proclaim, Beauty Secrets, Beyond the Zone, Generic Value Products, Inspired by Nature) with exclusive distribution arrangements (Arctic Fox, Good Dye Young, Manic Panic, Dashing Diva, Eva NYC, Biotera, ASP, Iroiro, Nailboo) and third-party professional brands (Wella, Clairol, OPI, L'Oreal, Paul Mitchell, Matrix, Schwarzkopf, Kenra, Goldwell, Joico, Amika, Moroccanoil, Wahl, Babyliss Pro). Notable proprietary technology includes Ion's TRICHOPOWER SCIENCE molecular formulation launched in the Ion 24K Collection in January 2026.

Revenue is generated primarily through unit-priced retail merchandise sales across omnichannel touchpoints: physical retail stores, SallyBeauty.com e-commerce (representing 11.7%-12% of net sales at $108-$111 million per quarter in FY26), TikTok Shop (launched March 2026), Amazon, Uber Eats, DoorDash, and the BSG outside sales force. Sally Beauty generated more than $3.7 billion in FY2025 revenue, with FY2026 guidance of $3.725-$3.750 billion. The balance sheet carries a net debt leverage ratio of 1.5x and $157 million in cash as of December 31, 2025, with an active $1 billion share repurchase authorization supporting capital return to public shareholders.

Name

Sally Beauty Holdings

Legal name

Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc.

Website

https://sallybeautyholdings.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1964

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Sally Beauty Holdings is a NYSE-listed specialty retailer and distributor of professional beauty products operating 5,000 stores across 11 countries, serving both retail consumers and professional salons through Sally Beauty Supply and Beauty Systems Group with proprietary, exclusive, and third-party brands.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Beauty Retail

NAICS

Cosmetics, Beauty Supplies, and Perfume Retailers (45612)

SIC

Retail-Department Stores (5311)

akta.pro primary industry

Mid-Tier Department Stores (Beauty & Cosmetics-Led) (CRAGACAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Professional/Salon Beauty Distribution (CRAOAEAB)

Keywords

• Professional beauty supplies
• Hair color products
• Specialty beauty retail
• Salon supply distribution
• Beauty product retailing

Headquarters

HQ city

Denton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Retail Merchandise Sales: Sale of professional beauty supplies through Sally Beauty and Beauty Systems Group retail stores, e-commerce platforms, and direct sales consultants. Products include hair color, hair care, nails, and skin care through proprietary brands and professional lines.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Sally Beauty Holdings is an international specialty retailer and distributor of professional beauty supplies operating two segments: Sally Beauty Supply, which sells up to 7,000 hair color, hair care, nails, and skin care products to retail consumers through stores and e-commerce; and Beauty Systems Group (Cosmo Prof / Armstrong McCall), which distributes up to 8,000 professionally branded products through stores and outside sales consultants to professional salons for in-salon use and resale.

Product overview

Sally Beauty Holdings is an international specialty retailer and distributor of professional beauty supplies operating across two main segments: Sally Beauty Supply and Beauty Systems Group (Cosmo Prof / Armstrong McCall). The company offers a portfolio of proprietary brands including Ion, Bondbar, Strawberry Leopard, Generic Value Products, Inspired by Nature, Silk Elements, and Texture ID, alongside professional brands such as Wella, Clairol, OPI, L'Oreal, Paul Mitchell, Matrix, and Schwarzkopf. Products span hair color, hair care, nails, and skin care categories, sold through 5,000+ retail stores, over 800 distributor sales consultants, and digital channels including the company's e-commerce platform, Amazon, Uber Eats, DoorDash, and TikTok Shop.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ion: Proprietary hair color and care brand; includes ion 24K collection with TRICHOPOWER SCIENCE technology for hair damage repair
• Bondbar
• Texture ID
• Silk Elements
• Strawberry Leopard
• Generic Value Products
• Inspired by Nature

Products and services

• Sally Beauty Supply
• Beauty Systems Group (Cosmo Prof / Armstrong McCall)

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• LGBTQIA+ Owned Beauty BrandsminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 4 June 2026Celebration of LGBTQIA+ owned and founded brands during Pride Month including Good Dye Young, Kaleidoscope, Madison Reed, and XMONDO whose passion and originality inspire the beauty community.
• TikTok ShopcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 19 March 2026Social commerce marketplace launch bringing Sally Beauty products to TikTok Shop where beauty culture thrives within creator communities and highly engaging social platforms. Launched March 10, 2026 with over a thousand products.
• Uber EatsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 19 March 2026Delivery marketplace partnership celebrating one year of collaboration with strong double-digit year-over-year growth across digital delivery channels.
• DoorDashminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 19 March 2026Delivery platform partnership expanding how customers discover and access Sally Beauty products through convenient delivery services.
• The Grove (Los Angeles)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 9 March 2026Venue partnership for COLORfest immersive pop-up experience on March 14 at The Grove in Los Angeles, featuring personalized color analysis, expert consultations, and product showcases.
• Impressions of BeautycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 February 2026Collaboration on the Rooted in Success HBCU campus tour developing 13-stop cross-country programming with trusted student leaders as brand ambassadors for authentic, peer-to-peer engagement across each university.
• ESSENCE MagazinecoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 27 February 2026Marketing partnership to amplify the Rooted in Success campaign messaging, with ESSENCE highlighting Sally Beauty's support for HBCU students and emerging leaders across its social media and digital channels.
• HBCU CampusescoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 27 February 2026Partnership with 13 Historically Black Colleges and Universities for the Rooted in Success campus tour bringing professional-quality beauty solutions, education, and community engagement directly to students on campus.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Ulta Beauty: Largest US specialty beauty retailer operating 1,400+ stores across all categories (cosmetics, hair, skin, fragrance). Direct competitor to Sally Beauty's 3,090-store US Sally Beauty chain, competing for the same at-home beauty consumer with overlapping mass and masstige brand assortments.
• SalonCentric (L'Oréal): L'Oréal-owned US distributor of professional beauty products to salons and licensed stylists, directly competing with Sally Beauty's Beauty Systems Group (Cosmo Prof / Armstrong McCall) in the same professional-channel B2B category.
• e.l.f. Beauty: Fast-growing mass beauty brand company selling color cosmetics, skin care, and hair care through Target, Walmart, Ulta, and DTC. Competes head-to-head with Sally Beauty's value-priced proprietary brands (Generic Value Products, Strawberry Leopard, Silk Elements) on price and social-first marketing.
• Sephora (LVMH): Global multi-brand beauty specialty retailer and a key competitor in prestige beauty. Competes directly with Sally Beauty through its DTC site and store footprint, particularly for hair color, skincare, and exclusive brand assortments.
• CosmoProf (Sally Beauty BSG brand, included for benchmarking — separate channel): Listed here for completeness as Sally Beauty's own BSG wholesale arm; external professional-channel comparables include SalonCentric (L'Oréal) and State Beauty Supply.

Emerging players

• Madison Reed: DTC hair color brand with retail-in-Ralph Lauren locations and omnichannel subscription. Emerges as a digitally native challenger targeting Sally Beauty's core at-home hair color consumer with brand storytelling and category exclusivity.

Broad incumbents

• Bath & Body Works: Specialty personal-care and home fragrance retailer with ~1,900 US stores. Overlaps with Sally Beauty's personal care/home scent adjacency and competes for the same middle-income female shopper's beauty discretionary spend.
• Coty Inc. Global beauty conglomerate owning CoverGirl, Clairol, Wella, OPI, and many professional brands that Sally Beauty retails. Functions as a key supplier and a broader industry incumbent whose strategic shifts directly affect Sally Beauty's assortment and margins.
• Amazon Beauty Store: Massive online general-merchandise and beauty marketplace already carrying many of the same professional and consumer brands (Wella, Clairol, OPI). Listed as a marketplace partner for Sally Beauty, but also a structural competitor for offline beauty share.

Regional players

• Blue Mercury (Macy's): US-based prestige beauty and spa services retailer, now owned by Macy's. Adjacent competitor in the multi-brand beauty specialty retail category, focused on higher-end skin care and services rather than value-priced color and mass.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SallyBeauty
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCjNuMflsMIXzJolioZqKSRw
• Facebookfacebook.com/SallyBeauty
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sally-beauty
• Instagraminstagram.com/sallybeauty
• TikToktiktok.com/@sallybeauty

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sally Beauty Holdings