A huge queue greeted the Sephora U.K. official store opening at Westfield London on March 8, 2023. … [+]
French beauty and skincare retailer Sephora has confirmed that it will open its second physical store in the U.K. on Nov. 15 at London’s Westfield Stratford City mall in East London.
The new outlet will stock products and personal services from over 125 brands across fragrance, haircare, makeup, skincare and wellness, the company confirmed, with new and exclusive brands including Adwoa Beauty, Relevant, Straand, Salt & Stone and Naked Sundays.
The company said that the new location will, like its first British store, feature a Grand Beauty Hub, which will showcase a range of beauty services and treatments, plus professional makeup services and skin and hair treatments.
Announcing the official opening date, Sephora chief executive Sarah Boyd said: “We are so grateful for the welcome we have received from our fans in the U.K. Their response to our White City [Westfield London]
opening blew us away and far exceeded our expectations.
“We are committed to giving the U.K. a unique Sephora experience, one tailored to the unique cultural needs of this wonderful country, she added. “We hope the community in Stratford loves the store as much as those in West London and look forward to a day of treats and surprises at our opening.”
Sephora U.K. Return
It took 18 years for Sephora to return to the U.K. when it debuted its first store this spring with a circa 6,000 sq. ft. outlet, following the launch of its U.K. website last October.
Sephora notoriously exited the U.K. in May 2005 after opening just six stores, the first of which was in the huge out-of-town Bluewater shopping center just outside London in 2000.
The LVMH-owned retailer blamed soaring rents and costs for its inability to compete with the established players last time, as it shuttered its British business.
Rumors in 2019 that Sephora would be opening a store in the Westfield London shopping center failed to materialize, however Sephora acquired e-beauty retailer FeelUnique in 2021 for $147 million, paving the way for a return.
But Sephora’s arrival back in Britain comes at a time when the beauty market is hotting up.
Boots Boosts Premium
Earlier this month, U.K. market leader Boots – part of the Walgreens business – confirmed that skin care and premium beauty products had helped drive a strong Q4.
While it reported a 12% rise in sales for the three months to Aug. 31, contributing to a 12.5% increase in revenue for the full year, sales of skin care products jumped nearly 25%, while private label skin care rose by over a third, and premium beauty category revenues increased 20% during the period.
Premium products have outpaced sales of other categories at market leader Boots. (Photo by Oli … [+]
Also this month, Boots launched a new premium and professional haircare category online as it looks to expand its beauty product range and bolster its premium beauty offer. Boots now offers 400 products from 10 professional and salon haircare brands.
Little wonder then that the big guns are ramping up their efforts. The U.K. is also among the three leading cosmetic consumer markets in Europe, behind only France and Germany, and Sephora’s retail division boss Christopher de Lapuente said earlier this year that Sephora’s Westfield London store had performed “300% better” than expected within the first eight weeks of trading.
He pointed to an opening day where the company had 5,000 people queuing outside the store. “It’s the power of the brand,” he said. “They came to discover Sephora, the products, the assortment, which is part of the magic.”
