Sephora

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Sephora is a French multinational retailer of personal care and beauty products. Featuring nearly 3,000 brands, along with its own private label, Sephora offers beauty products including cosmetics, skincare, body, fragrance, nail color, beauty tools, body lotions and haircare. The company was founded in Limoges in 1970 and is currently based in Paris. Sephora is owned by luxury conglomerate LVMH as of 1997. Sephora now operates stores in more than 30 countries and is seen as one of the LVMH group’s biggest drivers of growth. Measured in terms of retail sales, it now commands a staggering 12 percent of the beauty market in the United States, 15 percent of the market in China and 27 percent of the market in its native France, according to Sanford C. Bernstein, a sell-side equity research firm.[1]

Sephora features a variety of beauty products from more than 300 brands, including NARS Cosmetics, Make Up For Ever, Too Faced Cosmetics, Anastasia Beverly Hills, Coto Beauty, Urban Decay, Benefit Cosmetics, Amazing Cosmetics, First Aid Beauty, Lancôme Cosmetics, Sunday Riley Skincare, philosophy, Jo Malone London, Atelier Cologne, YSL Beauty by Yves Saint Laurent, Tatcha, Huda Beauty, Kat Von D, and Bobbi Brown Cosmetics. Sephora also features its own make-up, skincare, beauty tools and accessories. Packaging for the line features the company's elongated flame logo in standard black print. In 2010, the company debuted fragrance collections with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, known as Elizabeth and James, and a makeup line with Marc Jacobs.[2]

Support to Black Lives Matter

Sephora representative said the company is deeply saddened by the recent loss of George Floyd and the pain experienced by African Americans and communities of color across America. They believe unequivocally that Black Lives Matter and they are committed to using their platforms and resources to stand against racism and injustice, to amplify Black voices, and celebrate the beauty and diversity of Black lives.

As part as their support, they are letting its Beauty Insider members redeem their points as donations to the National Black Justice Coalition. The new reward option can be accessed through the Beauty Insider Rewards Bazaar. Five-hundred points equals a $10 donation, 1,000 points equals a $20 donation, and 1,500 points equals a $30 donation.[3]

The Racial Bias in Retail Study

In 2020, Sephora conducted the first-ever large-scale study on Racial Bias in Retail. The yearlong look at unfair treatment and racially biased experiences in U.S. stores revealed that Black retail shoppers are two and a half times more likely than white shoppers to receive unfair treatment based on their skin color, while BIPOC shoppers are two times more likely than white shoppers to receive unfair treatment based on their ethnicity.

The study also found three in four shoppers feel excluded before even entering a store due to lack of diversity in marketing, merchandise, and store associates, while BIPOC retail shoppers use coping mechanisms, such as shopping online, to avoid bias they often experience while in a store browsing for makeup shades or textured hair-care products that may or may not even exist. Unsurprisingly, the study notes shoppers and employees alike aren’t content with all the “listening and learning” that went around last year. Above all, they want to see “meaningful and long-term action” from retailers, and expect “a commitment to change through new programs, training, and tools” — which brings us to Sephora’s action plan to tackle racial bias across the entire organization[4].

The plan includes increased diversity in its product offerings and workforce, more inclusive marketing programming, and greater accountability through the institution of updated employee conduct policies. There is a need for better training and understanding of racial issues throughout the shopping journey. Sephora has made a long-term commitment to address the issues and drive change for the betterment of the industry as a whole.[5]

Sephora has been putting action behind words as evidenced by the announcement in June of last year that going forward at least 15% of its products will be from Black-owned brands. The company has furthered its commitment by pledging to double its assortment of Black-owned brands by the end of 2021.[5]

References

  1. Dherman, Lauren (2013). Inside Sephora’s Branded Beauty Strategy. Business of Fashion. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  2. Sephora. Wikipedia. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  3. Krause, Amanda (2020). 22 beauty brands that are taking action against racial injustice. Insider. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  4. Smith, Erica (2021). Sephora Has a Plan to Tackle Racial Bias in Retail. The Cut. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Kohan, Shelley E (2021). Sephora Takes Steps To Stop Racism In Retail. Forbes. Retrieved January 17, 2021.