Sephora is a French multinational retailer of personal care and beauty products with nearly 340 brands, along with its own
private label
A private label, also called a private brand or private-label brand, is a brand owned by a company, offered by that company alongside and competing with brands from other businesses. A private-label brand is almost always offered exclusively by th ...
, Sephora Collection, and includes beauty products such as
cosmetics
Cosmetics are constituted mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources, or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics have various purposes. Those designed for personal care and skin care can be used to cleanse or protect ...
,
skincare
Skin care is a range of practices that support skin integrity, enhance its appearance, and relieve skin conditions. They can include nutrition, avoidance of excessive sun exposure, and appropriate use of emollients. Practices that enhance appea ...
,
body
Body may refer to:
In science
* Physical body, an object in physics that represents a large amount, has mass or takes up space
* Body (biology), the physical material of an organism
* Body plan, the physical features shared by a group of anima ...
,
fragrance
An aroma compound, also known as an odorant, aroma, fragrance or flavoring, is a chemical compound that has a smell or odor. For an individual chemical or class of chemical compounds to impart a smell or fragrance, it must be sufficiently ...
, nail color, beauty tools, body lotions and
haircare.
The company was founded in
Limoges in 1969 and is currently based in
Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. Sephora is owned by
luxury
Luxury may refer to:
* Luxury goods, an economic good or service for which demand increases more than proportionally as income rises
*Luxury tax, tax on products not considered essential, such as expensive cars
**Luxury tax (sports), surcharge pu ...
conglomerate
LVMH as of 1997.
The name comes from the Greek word meaning beauty, ''sephos'', and the Greek spelling of
Zipporah
Zipporah, or Tzipora (; he, צִפּוֹרָה, ''Ṣīppōrā'', "bird"),, ''Sepphōra''; ar, صفورة, ''Ṣaffūrah'' is mentioned in the Book of Exodus as the wife of Moses, and the daughter of Reuel/Jethro, the priest and prince of Mid ...
( el, Σεπφώρα, ''Sepphōra''), wife of
Moses.
History
![Crowd @ Passage du Havre @ Paris (34214305381)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/Crowd_%40_Passage_du_Havre_%40_Paris_%2834214305381%29.jpg)
Sephora was first launched in Paris in August 1970. It was acquired by ''Dominique Mandonnaud'' in 1993, who merged the purchase with his own perfume chain under the Sephora brand. Mandonnaud is credited for designing and executing Sephora's "assisted self-service" sales experience, which separated itself from standard retail models for cosmetics by encouraging customers to test products in retail locations before purchasing.
Mandonnaud continued to expand the Sephora brand through the 1990s, opening up its flagship store in
Champs Élysées
Champs may refer to:
Music
* The Champs, a U.S. instrumental music group
* Champs (Brazilian band), a Brazilian boy band
* Champs (British band), a British folk- and indie rock-influenced band
* The Fucking Champs, a U.S. progressive heavy metal ...
in 1997. In July 1997, Mandonnaud and his partners sold Sephora to
LVMH, who expanded the stores globally and bolstered the chain's products to include beauty and cosmetic products.
[ Sephora extended its operation to the ]Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
ern markets in 2007 and has opened over 44 Sephora UAE
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
and KSA
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...
stores as well as an eCommerce store. It extends its partnership with its exclusive brands in the region.
On 1 January 2014, Calvin McDonald replaced David Suliteanu as president and chief executive officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...
of Sephora Americas. Suliteanu was named CEO of Kendo Brands, another business in the LVMH portfolio.
Sephora opened its first United States store in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
in 1998, its first Canadian store in Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
in 2004 and the first Australian Sephora store in 2014. Its North American headquarters is located in New York City, with corporate offices in San Francisco and Montréal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-p ...
. Sephora currently operates over 430 stores across North America.
On 26 August 2016, Sephora opened its 400th location in North America on the Magnificent Mile
The Magnificent Mile, sometimes referred to as The Mag Mile, is an upscale section of Chicago's Michigan Avenue, running from the Chicago River to Oak Street in the Near North Side. The district is located within downtown, and one block ...
in Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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. The store is the city's new flagship location.
On 31 March 2017, Sephora opened its largest retail location in North America near Herald Square in New York City. The store is approximately 11,380 square feet and features over 13,000 products. It's one of six Sephora TIP Workshop locations, with interactive services and tools, in North America; the others include San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
, Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, Santa Clara Valley
The Santa Clara Valley is a geologic trough in Northern California that extends 90 miles (145 km) south–southeast from San Francisco to Hollister. The longitudinal valley is bordered on the west by the Santa Cruz Mountains and on the east ...
, and Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
.
On 19 November 2018, Sephora signed a long-term lease at Thor Equities
Thor Equities is a real estate development, leasing and management firm, with headquarters in New York City, London and Mexico City. Thor Equities owns property in the United States, Canada, Europe, Russia, India and Latin America, including Londo ...
’ Town Square Metepec, a new retail and entertainment center in Mexico totaling 1.7 million square feet.
In April 2019, R&B singer SZA accused the store of racial profiling
Racial profiling or ethnic profiling is the act of suspecting, targeting or discriminating against a person on the basis of their ethnicity, religion or nationality, rather than on individual suspicion or available evidence. Racial profiling involv ...
. On May 23, 2019, Sephora announced they would be closing all locations on Wednesday, June 5, 2019, to hold diversity training for its staff. However, the staff training was a part of their "We Belong To Something Beautiful Campaign" and not the accusations from the singer. The planning and training for this campaign began in late 2019.
In February 2020, an ex-employee of Sephora launched a website accusing the store of bullying culture, mishandling of staff complaints, and wage theft
Wage theft is the failing to pay wages or provide employee benefits owed to an employee by contract or law. It can be conducted by employers in various ways, among them failing to pay overtime; violating minimum-wage laws; the misclassificati ...
.
On July 26, 2021, Sephora agreed with Palamon Capital Partners
Palamon Capital Partners is a London-based private equity firm. It was founded in 1999, and is headquartered at Cleveland House in King Street, St James's
St James's is a central district in the City of Westminster, London, forming part of ...
the purchase of Feelunique.com, a UK online retailer of prestige beauty goods founded in 2005, with 1.3 million active customers from 120 countries and more than 35,000 products from over 800 brands. It had been acquired from Palamon Capital Partners for £26 million in 2012. The price was rumored to be £132 million.
Operations
Sephora launched its online store in the U.S. in 1999 and in Canada in 2003. The Canadian head office was opened in February 2007 by Marie-Christine Marchives, a former Sephora U.S. and Sephora France employee. Marie-Christine Marchives returned to France in July 2010 to become the general manager of Sephora France. She was replaced in Canada by Klaus Ryum-Larsen. Sephora currently operates over 2,300 stores in 33 countries worldwide, generating over an estimated $4 billion in revenue
In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of goods and services related to the primary operations of the business.
Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some companies receive reven ...
as of 2013.[ As of September 2013, the Sephora at Champs Élysées in Paris, France, attracts over six million people a year.] Afterpay and Sephora partnered to offer its customers the flexibility to pay in four installments on July 13, 2022.
Brands
Sephora features a variety of beauty products from more than 300 brands, including Tatcha, Huda Beauty, Kat Von D, and Bobbi Brown
Bobbi Brown (born in April 14, 1957) is an American professional make-up artist, author, and the founder of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics. She created ten natural-shade lipsticks which according to ''Entrepreneur'' "revolutionized the beauty industry". ...
, an
Coto Beauty
Cosmetics. Sephora also features its own make-up, skincare, beauty tools and accessories under the brand name Sephora Collection. Packaging for the line previously featured the company's elongated flame logo in standard black print. The new logo features the updated "Sephora Quality, Really Good Price" logo with the $ sign.
In 2013, the company included fragrance collections from Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen
Ashley Fuller Olsen (born June 13, 1986) is an American businesswoman and former actress. She began her acting career at the age of nine months, sharing the role of Michelle Tanner with her twin sister Mary-Kate Olsen in the television sitco ...
, known as Elizabeth and James, and a makeup line with Marc Jacobs.
On the 25th of June 2020, Maddie Ziegler's imagination collection collaborated with Morphe launched in Sephora Canada.
Sephora inside JCPenney
In October 2006, Sephora began opening stores inside JCPenney
Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Gir ...
. Sephora inside JCPenney features some of the same makeup, skincare, and fragrance brands as well as its own product line found in stand alone stores nationwide. Sephora inside JCPenney stores are much smaller than a normal store, usually 1,500 sq ft in size. As of 2017, there were more than 600 Sephora locations in JCPenney stores across the US. That same year, JC Penney announced the closing of 138 stores nationwide, several of which house a Sephora in JCPenney store.
Sephora inside Kohl's
In December 2020, Sephora announced that it would begin opening Sephora stores inside Kohl's
Kohl's (stylized in all caps) is an American department store retail chain, operated by Kohl's Corporation. it is the largest department store chain in the United States, with 1,165 locations, operating stores in every U.S. state except Haw ...
locations. The announcement included plans to launch Sephora at 850 Kohl's stores by 2023. The first four Sephora inside Kohl's locations opened on August 6, 2021.
Subscription service
In August 2015, it was announced that Sephora would launch a subscription service: ''Play! By Sephora''. The monthly subscription service offers boxes containing sample size products for a monthly fee. Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, Columbus, and Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
were the only three cities to test the initial service launch in September 2015. The service was launched throughout the US in 2016.
For $10 USD
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
billed monthly, each month’s box is a collectable bag that changes each month with five deluxe skincare, makeup, or haircare samples. Each box includes a selection of products based on answers provided by the customer in PLAY! profile.
Sephora terminated PLAY! in April 2020, replacing it with Sephora Luxe. Like Play!, Luxe gives the opportunity to sample products, but Luxe is ordered monthly and is not a subscription service.
Sephora UAE and KSA
Sephora UAE and KSA are regional subdivisions of Sephora. The Middle East head office was opened in February 2006 by Pierre Fayard. Since 2007, over 30 separate Sephora stores have opened across the Middle East region (UAE, KSA, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait). Sephora UAE and KSA provide make up and skincare products from notable brands such as Christian Dior, Laura Mercier
Laura Mercier (born Michèle Mercier on 2 October 1960) is a French makeup artist and businesswoman.
Early life
Laura Mercier was born as Michèle Mercier in Arles, France, on 2 October 1960, the youngest of three daughters. At 16, she enrolled ...
and Kat Von D in a high tech contemporary retail environment. Sephora’s first Middle East store opened at Seef Mall in Bahrain on 7 January 2007 followed by Festival City, UAE on 1 March 2007 with a further 30 stores opening across the region since. The Sephora store in the Dubai Mall opened in December 2008 and is now ranked as the company’s number one store worldwide. In 2007, the late Sephora CEO, Jacques Levy expressed a desire to have 100 stores open across the region by 2010. A year later the international financial crisis derailed these ambitions. Levy stepped down in 2011 and died a year later. Despite this early setback Sephora have opened more than 30 more stores and introduced online shopping to the region in November 2016. In December 2017, Sephora opened ‘Gifts Beauty Park, the world's first beauty Festive playground in Dubai. The pop-up store featured fairground and makeup themed games and invited shoppers to sit down with professional Sephora makeup artists to experience the products. In March 2018, Guillaume Motte was announced as the new president of Sephora Europe and Middle East.
Sephora North America
Sephora USA was launched in 1999 and Sephora Canada in 2003.
Sephora Canada opened its 100th store in Canada on November 2022.
Sephora Singapore
Sephora Singapore was launched in December 2008.
Products
Sephora’s Middle East stores stock internationally renowned products by the like of Estée Lauder and subsidiary Clinique
Clinique Laboratories, LLC () is an American manufacturer of skincare, cosmetics, toiletries and fragrances, usually sold in high-end department stores. It is a subsidiary of the Estée Lauder Companies. As of 2019, Clinique has over 22,000 cust ...
, alongside local brands such as Shiffa Dubai Skin Care and Huda Beauty. According to ''Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'', Huda Beauty, founded by Dubai based blogger and business woman Huda Kattan, was the top selling cosmetic brand across Sephora Middle East, in 2018.
Applications
In 2016, Sephora launched its own all access tablet and smartphone application Designed "made manifest" by Dennis Hornstra, a software and application designer for Apple. It can be seen as an augmented reality platform. Pocket Contour, one of the digital programs that was rolled out, teaches users how to contour their skin step-by-step depending on their face shape. By uploading a photo, the user can receive a virtual makeover, experimenting with different product and shade combinations.
Acquisitions
In 2000, Sephora.com purchased the assets of Eve.com for "high six-figures".
Lawsuits
On 18 November 2014, four customers filed a class action
A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class actio ...
lawsuit against Sephora. The suit alleges that Sephora engaged in racial discrimination
Racial discrimination is any discrimination against any individual on the basis of their skin color, race or ethnic origin.Individuals can discriminate by refusing to do business with, socialize with, or share resources with people of a certain g ...
by wrongfully deactivating the customer rewards accounts of Asian customers under the pretense that these customers were buying products from Sephora in bulk and reselling them. Sephora identified accounts to deactivate by looking at email domains from @qq.com (owned by Tencent
Tencent Holdings Ltd. () is a Chinese multinational technology and entertainment conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. It is one of the highest grossing multimedia companies in the world based on revenue. It is also the wo ...
), @126.com, or @163.com (both owned by NetEase).
Environmental record
Sephora’s sustainable development initiatives were recognized in December 2015. The company received the Sustainable Brand label, as well as the 2015 R Award for eco-design by the Génération Responsible association. Global Cosmetic News reported that Sephora's newly launched display cases have a 30% lighter metal frame that will reduce CO2 emissions by 220 metric tons.
In 2020, Sephora announced it would no longer carry eyelashes made of mink fur, which has been shown to come from farms where animals are mistreated. The company said it was compelled by concerned customers and a PETA campaign to sell only synthetic lashes.
Social responsibility
In June 2020, Sephora announced that it would take the 15 Percent Pledge, pledging to fill 15 percent of their shelf space with Black-owned businesses.[Pledged Companies - 15 Percent Pledge ]
'
Awards and honors
In 2010, ''Women's Wear Daily
''Women's Wear Daily'' (also known as ''WWD'') is a fashion-industry trade journal often referred to as the "Bible of fashion". Horyn, Cathy"Breaking Fashion News With a Provocative Edge" ''The New York Times''. (August 20, 1999). It provides inf ...
'' named Sephora the specialty retailer of the year.
In March 2018, ''FastCompany'' named Sephora to the number 36 spot (of 50) on their list of "World’s Most Innovative Companies", citing its expanded offering of broadly diverse and inclusive product lines like Fenty Beauty
Fenty Beauty (stylized as FEИTY BEAUTY) is a cosmetics brand by Rihanna, that was launched on September 8, 2017. Popular for its broad inclusivity across various skin tones, its Pro Filt'R foundation became high-demand upon first release. The o ...
.
See also
*Watsons
Watsons () is a Hong Kong health care and beauty care chain store in Asia and Europe. It is the flagship health and beauty brand of the A.S. Watson Group, which is majority owned by CK Hutchison Holdings.
It operates near 8,000 stores and ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Companies based in San Francisco
Cosmetics companies of France
Manufacturing companies established in 1970
Retail companies established in 1997
French brands
LVMH brands
Retail companies of France
Beauty stores