Sephora targets 20 UK stores in expansion drive
The boss of Sephora has said the cosmetics retailer is looking to ramp up its UK expansion over the next few years.
Speaking to The Times, Sephora’s CEO Guillaume Motte said the retailer was looking to have “at least 20 stores in the UK” over the next two to three years.
Owned by LMVH, Sephora has over 3,000 stores across 35 countries. This includes six in the UK, where it re-entered the physical market last year following an 18-year absence.
The retailer currently operates stores in Westfield Stratford, Westfield London, and Manchester, as well as two in Newcastle and one in Birmingham, where it opened last week.
Sephora is also set to launch new stores at Bluewater and Liverpool ONE over the coming months. The former is due to open this winter whilst the latter will open in early 2025.
Motte told The Times: ”I know that sometimes we say that retail, and especially retail in the UK, has been doom and gloom.
“My answer to this always ‘boring retail is dead but exciting retail is alive and really thriving’.”
The French retailer originally made its UK debut in 2000 in Kent, before exiting five years later after facing a combination of high rents and competition from homegrown brands such as Boots.
A return to the UK was rumoured in 2019, but failed to materialise. However the brand’s £132m acquisition of FeelUnique in 2021 opened the doors to a British comeback.