Sephora UK has opened its debut boutique store on Carnaby Street in London.
The smaller-format store opened today (23 July) and was developed as a direct result of customer feedback.
Although Sephora remains committed to rolling out large-format stores in key regional cities, the boutique claims to offer quicker visits, curated edits, and expert advice without the time commitment of a destination shop.
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A follow-up boutique is set to open at Old Spitalfields Market in London on 30 July
The opportunity to experiment with this new store style in the UK is one of the “beauties of being part of Sephora”, Sarah Boyd, Managing Director of Sephora UK, told Cosmetics Business at the store’s pre-launch event.
“Sephora is a global network in so many markets across the globe, [and while this is a first for the UK], there are other smaller formats that have been tried in Southern Europe.
“We are constantly trying different things, and then we all learn from each other's mistakes and trials and tests, and then we can try things in different countries.
“If this works, and we are hoping it does, there are already more coming this year that have not been announced yet.”
The Carnaby Street boutique has been designed as a ‘pop-in’ experience reminiscent of the UK’s high-street culture.
A Sephora company statement read: “A modern approach to retail, these intimate spaces continue to blend the thrill of discovery through a carefully curated selection of brands and products with the simplicity of a tailored, convenient visit.”
Boyd anticipates a strong reception to the new store, and said the LVMH-owned retailer is trialling a new app-booking slot system to manage the crowds.
She continued: “It means that we are expecting a lot of people to come, and it is going to be a little bit difficult to manage [the] massive queues that we tend to have in the mall sites.”
Sephora’s UK journey three years on
Sephora has celebrated more than three years of being back on the UK high street, after returning to Britain with its debut store in shopping destination Westfield White City.
Reflecting on the retailer’s UK journey, Boyd said it has been “the most incredible privilege” of her life.
“When I joined Sephora ten years ago in the Asia Pacific region, the whole time I was there, which was six or seven years, I kept questioning why Sephora was not in the UK.
“This is the third biggest premium beauty market on the planet, and we were just leaving it to the competition. And consumers were desperate for us to come here.”
Boyd is also proud of Sephora’s decision to open across the entirety of the country, rather than just focusing on London.
She continued: “There was an initial thought that the right strategy would be to start in London, and to really maximise market share there, before going out to the cities across the UK.
“I felt very strongly from the start that actually, because of the importance of the regional hubs, these incredibly big, vibrant communities in these incredible cities all the way across the UK, it was important that we allowed those markets and those communities to feel seen.
“That localisation and the local tone of voice have probably been the thing that I have been most proud of that we've done since we launched.”
Sephora has stores in Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle, Glasgow shopping centre, Edinburgh, Belfast, Bristol, and Cardiff.
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