Sephora

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Sephora is a chain of beauty product stores founded in France in 1969 and acquired by Paris-based LVMH in 1997.

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[edit] Name & logo

Sephora is the Greek form of Tzipporah צִפּוֹרָה, which means "bird" (female) in Hebrew, and was the name of the wife of Moses in the book of Exodus. [1]

The Sephora logo is a white vertically elongated "S" against a black background.

[edit] Overview

The Sephora chain includes more than 750 stores in 21 countries. It carries over 250 brands of extremely popular items that include makeup, skin care, fragrance, bath, and hair products, and beauty accessories, including Sephora's own moderately-priced private label. The chain targets a fairly upscale market of affluent customers in all age groups.[citation needed]

The leading retail beauty chain in Europe, Sephora opened its first US store in New York in 1997[2]. Its North American headquarters are located in San Francisco with marketing offices in New York City. With triple digit growth for the last five years, Sephora is one of the fastest growing retailers in the US[citation needed]. Sephora is known for their sampling program and for their lenient 60-day return policy. In 2004, it also started to operate in Canada.[2]

In 1999, Sephora launched its online shop Sephora.com[2], now available in 9 countries.[3]

In April 2006, Sephora joined forces with JCPenney to sell cosmetics in its stores. The JCPenney version of Sephora will be a "store within a store" concept. [4] The first five "Sephora Inside JCPenney" stores opened in October 2006, and the rollout will continue throughout 2007 and 2008. Cannon Equipment located in Rosemount, MN will be supplying the Sephora perimeter fixtures, and Sephora interior gondola fixtures for the "store within a store" locations.

Four seasonal catalogs are available to clientèle by mail and within stores. Special catalogs promoting holiday cosmetics or skincare catalogs are also published. They can be viewed online.

[edit] International presence

The Sephora chain has stores in:

[edit] Sephora inside JCPenney

Sephora has launched a store-with-in-a-store inside a growing number of JCPenney stores in the United States. These stores, which are one-third the size of a normal Sephora store (1,500 to 1,800 square feet as opposed to 4,000+ square feet), carry a more limited selection than full-size Sephora stores; however, many of Sephora's most popular cosmetics, skincare, and fragrance brands are represented.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Blank, Wayne. Zipporah Bible Study. Retrieved on 2007-09-18.
  2. ^ a b c Sephora.com: About Sephora
  3. ^ Sephora.com: International
  4. ^ JCPenney press release announcing Sephora partnership

[edit] External links

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