Sephora
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sephora is a chain of stores selling cosmetics and related beauty products, owned by LVMH.
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[edit] Overview
The Sephora chain includes 515 stores in 14 countries. Launched in 1969, it was acquired by LVMH and now carries over 250 brands that include makeup, skincare, fragrance, bath, and hair products, and beauty accessories. The chain targets a fairly upscale market of affluent women and men in all age groups.
The Sephora logo is a vertically elongated "S", that is similar to a strand of long wavy hair, It is commonly named as the "Sephora Flame"
In addition to major brands, Sephora also carries its own private label that is moderately-priced.
David Suliteanu was President and CEO starting in 2001 and still in that role today.
North American headquarters are located in San Francisco (525 market street) with Marketing offices in New York City.
With double digit growth for the last five years, Sephora is one of the fast growing retailers in the US. It has also started to operate in Canada.
The name Sephora comes from the Hebrew name Zipporah, a Jewish convert that became the wife of Moses.[1] Zipporah can mean either female, little bird, or beauty as well.
"Sephora is a name that is synonymous with beauty. Zipporah is a biblical name; she was the wife of Moses and the daughter of a nomadic chief. She was renowned for her exceptional beauty. Sephosis the Greek term attributed to beauty and vanity and the combination of the two words became Sephora." -SOS Science of Sephora Education Manual.
Joseph Conrad gave the name to a ship in his short story The Secret Sharer.
[citation needed] Alternatively, some articles have suggested that it is made up, to appeal to women.
In April 2006, Sephora joined forces with JCPenney to sell cosmetics in its stores. The JCPenney version of Sephora will be a store with in a store concept.
[edit] International presence
The Sephora chain has stores in:
- France (where the brand was born in 1969)
- Canada (first shop opened in Toronto)
- China
- Czech Republic (since 2002)
- Greece (since 2000)
- Italy (since 1998)
- Luxembourg (since 1996)
- Monaco (since 1996)
- Poland (since 1999)
- Portugal (since 1998)
- Romania (since 2000)
- Russia (since 2003)
- Spain (first shop opened in 1998 in Madrid)
- United States (first shop opened in 1998 in New York City)
- UK
[edit] Catalog and online shopping
Four seasonal catalogs are available to clientele by mail and within stores. Special catalogs promoting holiday cosmetics or skincare catalogs are also published. They can be viewed online.
Sephora.com was launched in 1999 (2003 in Canada). Users can create an account, request a catalog, read about new beauty products, trends, and maintain a favorites list.
