sephora case study

SEPHORAA Brand Case Study

Nikki KerberPBDS 705 • November 21, 2011

Nikki Kerber • PBDS 705 • The Design/Business Link 1

History of SEPHORA: The Foundations of Modern Design

Founded in late 1969 as Shop 8, Dominique Mondonnaud opened a speciality

perfumery retail store in Franceʼs Haute Vienne region that was revolutionary for its time

due to the way the store was operated and designed (”Sephora holdings s.a,” 2011, p.

1). While department stores heavily relied on the tried and true commission-based model

to sell perfume and essential perfume oils, Dominique Mondonnaud set out to create an

innovative and unique way to sell perfume and cologne. In 1979, Mondonnaud created a

cutting-edge retail model that dramatically changed the way customers shopped.

Marketed and designed as a self-service retail model, Shop 8 featured a large and open

floor plan in order for customers to roam the store and touch, feel, and try all products.

(”Sephora holdings s.a,” 2011, p. 2) This self-service retail model was revolutionary

because, even today, most department stores place products out of reach of potential

buyers, within glass cases, making the selling process less streamlined and frustrating

for some individuals. Another way Mondonnaud upgraded the traditional selling process

of perfume was by grouping products and brands in unique ways. For example, not only

did Shop 8 offer a more extensive perfume line than any other department store in 1979,

but products were grouped by perfume notes and scents, rather than just by brand.

(”Sephora holdings s.a,” 2011, p. 2) Interestingly enough, most department stores today

primarily still group fragrances only by brand. With the success of the new business


model, “Mondonnaud had opened a total of four Shop 8 stores” by 1984 (”Sephora

holdings s.a,” 2011, p. 2).

Although Shop 8 was successful with how it marketed and sold products,

Dominique Mondonnaud faced financial problems due to his over enthusiasm to expand

the store in new regions of France. As a result, on Mondonnaudʼs 50th birthday in 1993

he decided to retire and by 1997 all Shop 8 stores were sold to one of the most

prestigious luxury goods group in the world, Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH). After

LVMH took ownership of Sephora, which was rebranded in September 1993 by another

group, they had acquired approximately 129 stores and continued Mondonnaudʼs unique

selling vision by adding additional elements to each retail store and the overall brand.

(”Sephora holdings s.a,” 2011, p. 3-4). Primarily, LVMH expanded its product base to

include cosmetics and, “By end of 1997, Sephoraʼs sales had already topped the FRF 2

billion [mark]” (”Sephora holdings s.a,” 2011, p. 4). Additionally, LVMH expanded into

new territory such as Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Czech

Republic. Moreover, the first United States flagship store was opened in New York City in

1998. Finally, the LVMH group created a private label product brand under the Sephora

name and to this day includes accessories, skin care, hair care, and makeup products,

including their most coveted anti-wrinkle cream StriVectin-SD which is an international

award wining skin care product (”Sephora holdings s.a,” 2011, p. 4-5).

According to Sephoraʼs website, “Sephora is highly regarded as a beauty

trailblazer, thanks to its unparalleled assortment of prestige products, unbiased service

from experts, interactive shopping environment, and innovation” (“About Sephora,”

2011). Where it was once a dream to break away from the traditional retail model,

Sephora dominates the beauty industry thanks to its self-service model that sells a wide


range of products to women and men between the ages of 15 and 70 (”Sephora:

Liberating beauty,” 2006). Now in its peak, Sephora is the leading retail chain of beauty

products. Here is a snap shot of Sephoraʼs operating power around the world:

• Operates in 24 countries

• 280 Sephora stores in the U.S and Canada, including 270 mini-stores in JcPenny

• Carries over 11,000 products and 250 brands

(”About Sephora,” 2011).

Sephora: The Brand

As a brand, Sephora is the strongest competitor in the beauty industry. When

individuals think of the Sephora brand the overall feeling is that Sephora is the leader in

perfume, skin care, and cosmetics due to the way the company is marketed, advertised,

and designed. When customers were polled on their overall feeling of the Sephora

brand, nearly all customers replied that Sephora is modern, innovative, fun,

knowledgeable, professional, friendly, and trend-setting. These positive attributes echo

what Dominique Mondonnaud set out to do from the beginning when he opened his first

Shop 8 store. Building upon Mondonnaudʼs unique views, LVHM was able to further his

vision and create the beauty empire Sephora is today.

Without the ownership and support from LVHM, Sephora might not be the

recognized leader in the industry today. Since Sephora is owned and operated out of

France, which is the fashion capital of the world, and LVHM is owned and operated out

of France, the Sephora brand is automatically granted a certain level of credibility in the

beauty industry. Additionally, its credibility also stems from the knowledgeable sales

associates and make-up artists who have undergone Sephoraʼs extensive proprietary

training program called the “Science of Sephora.” This program was developed by


Sephora in conjunction with the top beauty consultants in order to give the best advice to

customers wanting information on “skin types, the history of makeup, application

techniques, and the science of creating fragrances” (”About Sephora,” 2011).

With such a deep understanding and extensive knowledge of the beauty industry,

Sephora ensures that its reputation as a leader is maintained and upheld in every aspect

of their business. As such, the company is able to tap into a broad customer base while

also targeting specific age groups. For example, they are able to target men by offering

menʼs cologne and skin care within an easy to navigate store layout. They are able to

target women of all ages by offering high-end traditional brand names such as Clinique

and Channel, as well as teenagers and the budget conscious consumer by offering them

unique products from startup companies and Sephoraʼs own private label.

As previously mentioned, Sephora prides itself on its self-service model. This is

perhaps the most important design concept of the Sephora brand as the design of the

store largely contributes to Sephoraʼs success. For example, by designating the left and

right walls of the store to menʼs cologne and womenʼs perfume, clearly identifying the top

10 fragrances amongst buyers and allowing customers to sample every fragrance, new

and returning customers are able to shop in a hassle-free environment that allows them

to try new scents while getting educated on their fragrance selection. Similarly, products

are grouped according to color like Sephoraʼs lip bar which promotes approximately 365

lipstick and lipgloss colors. Just like the fragrance walls, the lipstick bar contributes to the

hands-on approach to selling beauty products.

Barbara Emerson, Sephoraʼs vice president of store planning and design, argues

that “Design is one of the most important elements in our U.S rollout [and] itʼs integral to

the function and appeal of our stores” (as cited in “Sephora: Liberating beauty,” 2006).


Thus, another important design concept of the Sephora brand is the carefully selected

color scheme of red, black, and white. The main aisles of the store are covered in plush

red carpet, echoing the idea of walking down the red carpet during a Hollywood event.

Black and white tiles cover the remainder of the floor which are “architecturally striped

columns [that] punctuate the interiors [of the store]” (”Sephora: Liberating beauty,” 2006).

Furthermore, all sales associates dress in black and are supposed to wear red lipstick

with clear or red nail polish. With this color scheme in place, all products are able to

clearly stand out on the shelves, free of background distraction, and enhances the

feeling of organization and modern style (”Sephora: Liberating beauty,” 2006).

Additionally, the color scheme embodies an old-Hollywood feel as red, black, and white

are representative of Hollywood glamour.

In the article “Sephora Celebrates 10 Years of Beauty”, Allison Slater, Sephoraʼs

vice president of retail marketing, commented that “Over the past decade, Sephora has

revolutionized the cosmetics industry and the way people shop for their beauty

products.” (as cited in Cosgrove, 2008). Slate further notes that, “Clients view our stores

as the ultimate beauty playground and choose to shop at Sephora because of our

unique approach to retailing, unparalleled brand selection, distinctive store layout, open-

sell philosophy, stress-free environment and the expertise of our ʻcast

membersʼ [Sephoraʼs term for sales associates]” (as cited in Cosgrove, 2008). Clearly,

the Sephora brand exceeds customer expectations as a leader in the industry and to this

day continues to push boundaries by expanding the brand to include new products,

brands and services.


Logotype, Symbol, and Brand Mark

The name Sephora, which was coined in 1993, is a result of merging the biblical

name, Zipporah, Mosesʼ beautiful wife with the Greek word for “pretty” or sephos (”About

Sephora,” 2011). As a result, Sephora represents modern-day beauty within a diverse

culture of individuals. Sephora knows that because there isnʼt a clear definition of

beauty, they want their customers to think of them as a brand who understands diverse

trends, ideas, and people.

The Sephora logotype, which looks like it might be designed using the Gill Sans

typeface, further promotes the idea of modernism as the logotype is distinguishable from

any angle and size. Additionally, the name

works well in any color combination.

During special occasions and holidays for

instance, the logotype is used in teal or

gold. Since the logotype is designed using

a modern looking typeface, presenting it in any color does not take away from what the

name or brands represents.

Sephoraʼs symbol, which is present on their private

label products, gift bags, shopping bags, in-store shopping

totes, the Sephora website, and other advertising elements,

stands as a single elongated S. Referred to as the “Sephora

Flame”, the white S is stretched to look similar to a strand of

wavy hair or, as the name infers, a flickering flame that might

represent freedom of creativity and choice (“Sephora: Wikipedia”).


Finally, Sephoraʼs main brand mark includes a simple graphic design of short thin

black columns that are placed horizontally next to the logotype. The black columns

imitates the color theme of the black and white tiled columns designed on the floors of all

Sephora stores.

Designing Digital Shopping Experiences

Further expanding the Sephora experience, the Sephora North America brand

has recently started to leverage the power of the digital economy in order to accomplish

two goals. First, by claiming their digital space on various platforms, Sephora has hoped

to gain a larger fan base and customer base. Second, it further positions Sephora as the

leader and expert in beauty. Interestingly, by designing and strategically marketing

various new digital tools to their customers, Sephora has also positioned themselves to

be a leader in cutting-edge technology practices by using the digital economy to their

advantage. For instance, 2009-10 was the year when Sephora realized that smart

phones and other similar devices were here to stay. They also realized that customers

wanted product reviews and were spending more time online. Combining those three

elements, Sephora designed “Sephora to Go,” a mobile friendly website that can be

accessed by the majority of smart phones. Heavily accessed by thousands of

customers, “Sephora to Go” offers product reviews and ratings on all their products. As

senior vice president of Sephora Direct, Julie Borstein commented, “Our first mobile

application was the mobile view of ratings and reviews thatʼs very easy to use on your

phone. When youʼre walking around in our stores and trying to decide between two

products, and youʼre the type of person who likes to see what other people have to say,

then itʼs very easy to access that [information]” (Elkin, 2010). Julie Borstien also stated

that Sephora was one of the first businesses to create a mobile site for ratings and


reviews (Elkin, 2010). Seeing the success of their mobile ratings website, Sephora

continued to harness the power of technology by creating a “Sephora to Go” iPhone

application in October 2010. Earning 4.5 stars by users on iTunes, the iPhone app

further expands the “Sephora to Go” mobile site by offering customers the ability to

purchase products, view and purchase new products, view special mobile offers, get

advice from other Sephora fans on Facebook, watch videos, access product ratings and

reviews, look up past purchases, create a gift registry, and scan product barcodes to

quickly pull up product information (“iphone,” 2011). Finally, in July 2011, Sephora

completed the design and distribution of their iPad application that “lets consumers shop

its beauty products in a magazine-like format” (Kats, 2011). The iPad app was a smart

d e c i s i o n o n b e h a l f o f

Sephora because unlike

their mobile website or

iPhone app, it “features up-

to-the minute beauty news

a n d i n f o r m a t i o n f r o m

Sephoraʼs Facebook and

Twitter feeds, its BeautyTalk

community, as well as the

c o m p a n y ʼ s r e v a m p e d

YouTube channel” (Kats, 2011). The actual design and layout of the app also expands

upon Sephoraʼs business and general design philosophies as “the layout of the

application updates each time a consumer accesses it and can be tailored to only show

the content users want” (Kats, 2011). By leveraging the power of the digital platform and


integrating their social media accounts with these new tools, Sephora has proven to be

leader in many different arenas outside of the beauty industry.

Competitors

Like all business and brands, Sephora faces competition from three arenas.

These arenas include department stores that have a perfume and cosmetic section,

perfume and cosmetic manufacturers, and online retailers that also sell multi-brand

perfume and cosmetic products. Department stores, most notably Macyʼs, Nordstrom,

Saks Fifth Avenue, and Neiman Marcus, are direct competitors because they carry most

of the same brands Sephora offers their customers. Additionally, manufacturers websites

and retail shops compete with Sephora as some customers might be fan loyal and only

give their business directly to the manufacturer. Finally, websites such as Drugstore.com

and Ulta.com compete with Sephora for the simple reason that they also sell multi-

brands and offer discounts and speciality items. With all the direct and indirect

competition Sephora combats, however, they are still the leader in the industry due to

several reasons. The first is that Sephora carries niche brands such as Stila and NARS

that other retail stores do not and cannot carry due to contracts with the manufacturer.

Second, Sephora carries 250+ brands; that is a much larger selection of brands than

any department store, drugstore, or online retailer is willing and able to sell. Sephora

also has a very strong online presence that enables customers to access their inventory,

product information, and ratings and reviews 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Along with

fast and courteous sales associates and customer service representatives, Sephora also

offers unique services within their stores. For example, three free samples accompany

every online order and in-store samples are also given free of charge. Furthermore,

Sephora has recently collaborated with several beauty manufacturers to offer in-store

beauty treatments. As of November 2011, for instance, 7 Sephora stores offer manicures

through XpressSpa, an airport business offering beauty treatments to travelers. Sharon


Rothstein, senior vice president of marketing for Sephora, said that “Sephora is more

than a traditional retail beauty experience for our clients ... With XpressSpa already

being a luxury spa destination for business and leisure travelers ... we know that with

them as our partners we would be able to execute nail services with the level of

expertise that would meet not just Sephoraʼs expectations but also our clients” (as cited

in Naughton, 2011). Sephora also partnered with JcPenny in October 2006 to expand

JcPennyʼs younger cliental and literally bring Sephora to fans who previously did not

have access to the store or brands they offer. To date, there are Sephora locations in

approximately 270 JcPenny department stores (“About Sephora,” 2011). Now

celebrating its 18th year since the retail empire was rebranded as Sephora in 1993, the

Sephora brand is as strong as ever and continues to grow at an astonishing rate.


References

About Sephora. (2011). Retrieved from http://sephora.com/help/about_sephora.jhtml

Cosgrove, J. (2008, September). Sephora celebrates 10 years of beauty. Retrieved from http://www.beautypackaging.com/articles/2008/09/online-exclusive-sephora-celebrates-10-years-of-be

Elkin, T. (2010, May 28). Case study: Sephora offers ratings and reviews via mobile [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.emarketer.com/blog/index.php/case-study-sephora-offers-ratings-reviews-mobile/

iphone. (2011). Retrieved from http://sephora.com/go/iPhone/

Kats, R. (2011, July 25). Sephora boosts mcommerce strategy via integrated digital beauty experience. Retrieved from http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/2011/07/25/sephora-boosts-mcommerce-strategy-via-integrated-digital-beauty-experience

Naughton, J. (2011). Sephora to offer in-store manis. womens Wear Daily, 202(10), 6. Retrieved from http://galenet.galegroup.com/proxy-ub.researchport.edu/servlet/BCRC

(2007). Sephora holdings s.a. International Directory of Company Histories, 82, Re-trieved from http://galenet.galegroup.com.proxy-ub.researchport.umd.edu/servlet/BCRC

Sephora: Liberating beauty products. (2006, January 25). Bloomberg Businessweek, Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/jan2006/id20060125_183621.htm

Sephora: Wikipedia. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sephora


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