Sephora Presentation

Competitive Advantage

Competitors

• Sephora carries almost all beauty name brands along with their own
• Merchandise organized with detail
• Pressure-free retail experience
• Easy to use website compared to competitors

Current Problems

Who do you think are Sephora's biggest competitors?

Success In The USA

Difficulty attracting and retaining mature customer base who are more familiar with department store salesperson approach to cosmetic shopping

• Grew from one store in NYC in 1998 to over 700 stores today
• Currently owns over 20% of market share
• Sephora in JCPenney stores a big success

Differentiation Leadership

Suggestions

• Unique retail format
• "Open-sell" environment
• "Science of Sephora"
• JCPenney mini-stores
• Sales associates do not work on commission

Should Sephora continue working with JC Penney, or should they put more focus on their stand alone retail stores?

Do you think Sephora could greatly expand their customer base by offering more product selections for men?

• Environmentally friendly products
• Expand into men's market
• Fortify brand image

Product

• Sephora carries over 200 different brands, and over 13,000 products including makeup, skincare, fragrance, bath and body, hair care, and beauty tools
• High-end luxury brands like Tom Ford, D&G, MK
• Sephora's private label brand is "Sephora Collection"
• Products and services carry an air of "trendiness"

History & Background

Place

Price

• Retail stand-alone stores in shopping malls, metropolitan areas
• Mini-stores inside JCPenney locations
• Top-line beauty website, with product reviews and tutorials
• iPhone/iPad app
• Vending machines

• Founded in 1970 in Paris, France
• Owned and operated as subsidiary of LVMH since 1997
• First store in the US opened in New York City in 1998
• Over 700 stores in the US today, with 386 of these inside JCPenney stores

• Differentiating price model, with product costs spanning in the middle to upper range
• Assures customers of their quality by committing to their brands, which increases customer confidence in products and willingness to pay premium prices

Target Market

Positioning Strategy

Promotion

Segmentation Criteria

• People who value quality skin care, beauty and fragrance products
• Comfortable with medium to high price ranges
• Women ages 18-50+
• Men ages 20-40+

• Black and white colors with a hint of red give the store a clean, attractive look
• Friendly and knowledgeable sales associates
• Customer freedom to browse without pressure

• "Beauty Insider" customer loyalty program
• Collect points for dollars spent
• Access to special products, exclusive information, and personalized selections
• "V.I.B." - Very Important Beauty Insider
• Spend over $350 to get upgraded tier
• Exclusive gifts, events

• Women, typically in their late teens to early twenties
• Those who are influenced by perceptions of beauty and trends
• All income levels
• Those who like to try products to make the most educated purchases

Who do you think Sephora is trying to target?