The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Today, Sephora is synonymous with luxury beauty, generating more than an estimated $10 billion in annual sales across 2,000 stores in 35 countries, making it one of the most successful multi-brand retailers in the world. The retailer has managed to consistently disrupt the beauty market with its assisted self-service multi-brand and multi-category approach. But Sephora wasn’t always a success story, even after LVMH acquired it in 1997.
Sephora first expanded against many odds in 1970s France, a market then dominated by independent perfumeries. Three decades later, it defied competitors again as it grew its footprint internationally, displacing entrenched luxury beauty sellers at American department stores and other legacy retailers around the world.
Then in the 2010s, Sephora defended itself once again against the rise of e-commerce players and the decline of the mall. Now, amid a pandemic that has hindered access to its most important assets — its carefully curated stores — Sephora faces more competitors across more regions and channels than ever before and is increasingly competing with the brands sold in its stores. Can beauty’s original retail disruptor fend off the latest wave of competitors? BoF explores Sephora’s prospects through the lens of its colourful history, delving into the context of its current challenges and strategy, to reveal insights about the state of the beauty market in 2021.
Click below to read the case study now.
The inclusive label had struggled to capitalise on its early success, and recently faced customer complaints about failing to ship orders. New owner MacArthur Beauty is hiring a new team to run the brand and says “no one will be left high and dry,” but founder Sharon Chuter said she intends to challenge the sale.
Join us for a BoF Professional Masterclass that explores the topic in our latest Case Study, “How to Launch and Grow a Hero Product”.
Under eye patches make their case for out of the house attire, and Sofia Richie Grainge plots a beauty line.
A new Re-Nutriv launch from its namesake brand suggests a greater interest in the upper echelons of beauty.