Sephora

Sephora, Passage du Havre, Paris

Sephora 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.[9][10]

Mandonnaud continued to expand the Sephora brand through the 1990s, opening up its flagship store in Champs Élysées in 1997. In July 1997, Mandonnaud and his partners sold Sephora to LVMH, who expanded the stores globally and bolstered the chain's product offerings to include beauty and cosmetic products.[5] Sephora extended its operation to the Middle Eastern markets in 2007 and has opened over 44 Sephora UAE and KSA stores as well as an eCommerce store.[11][12] It extends its partnership with its exclusive brands in the region.[11]

On 1 January 2014, Calvin McDonald replaced David Suliteanu as president and chief executive officer of Sephora Americas. Suliteanu was named CEO of Kendo Brands, another business in the LVMH portfolio.[13]

Sephora opened its first United States store in New York City in 1998, its first Canadian store in Toronto in 2004 and the first Australian Sephora store in 2014.[14][15] Its North American headquarters is located in New York City, with corporate offices in San Francisco and Montréal. Sephora currently operates over 430 stores across North America.[16]

Sephora, Toronto Eaton Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

On 26 August 2016, Sephora opened its 400th location in North America on the Magnificent Mile in Chicago. The store is the city's new flagship location.[17]

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, Boston, Chicago, Santa Clara Valley, and Toronto.[18][19][20]

On 19 November 2018, Sephora signed a long-term lease at Thor Equities’ Town Square Metepec, a new retail and entertainment center in Mexico totaling 1.7 million square feet.[21]

Sephora launched its online store in the U.S. in 1999 and in Canada in 2003.[14] 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, [22] generating over an estimated $4 billion in revenue as of 2013.[5][23] As of September 2013, the Sephora at Champs Élysées in Paris, France, attracts over six million people a year.[24]

Sephora North America

Sephora USA was launched in 1999 and Sephora Canada in 2003 [43]

Sephora storefront in Dalma Mall

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.[46] By uploading a photo, the user can receive a virtual makeover, experimenting with different product and shade combinations.[47][48][49]

In 2000, Sephora.com purchased the assets of Eve.com for "high six-figures".[50][51]

In April 2019, R&B singer SZA accused the store of racial profiling. 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 2018.[52]

In February 2020, an ex-employee of Sephora launched the website workingatsephora.com[53] accusing the store of bullying culture, mishandling of staff complaints, and wage theft.[54]

On 18 November 2014, four customers filed a class action lawsuit against Sephora.[55] The suit alleges that Sephora engaged in racial discrimination 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.[56][57] Sephora identified accounts to deactivate by looking at email domains from @qq.com (owned by Tencent), @126.com, or @163.com (both owned by NetEase).[58]

Sephora’s sustainable development initiatives were recognized in December 2015.[59] 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.[60]

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.[61]

In 2010, Women's Wear Daily named Sephora the specialty retailer of the year.[62][63]

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.[64]

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