Sephora: case study

Résumé du document

Sephora's target customers are mostly women ranging from their teens to their thirties. This doesn't mean however, that these are Sephora's only customers. The store also offers men products, but the variety is more restricted for this market. The only thing that would keep a woman from buying cosmetics at Sephora is the price, which can sometimes be considered a bit unreasonable. In response to this, my recommendation is to expand Sephora's target customer by offering products with a more affordable price range. Sephora is known for the quality of its products though, and selling these at a lower price should not lower their quality. If their quality lessened, I believe Sephora would lose customers instead of gaining new ones.

Sephora's main competitors are department stores (Macy's, Bloomindales, Saks Avenue, Le Bon Marché, Printemps…), drugstores (Long, Walgreen, Walmart), or even stores such as Marionnaud in France. However, because Sephora possess its own label, only Sephora has the right to sell it. Sephora therefore has the upper hand in terms of its competitors. Moreover, Sephora differs from its competitors, as it has both a strong online and physical presence. Sephora also allows customers to return products they are not satisfied with, which is rare in the realm of cosmetics.

Extraits

[...] Their own label is supposed to offer some of the cheapest products; if these products start to be expensive, Sephora is going to loose a large category of customers, such as teenagers who do not have much money to spend on cosmetics. Other observations and recommendations. Another aspect that defines Sephora is the loyalty of its customers. Sephora succeeds in keeping the interest of its customers thanks to the customer cards. When a customer possesses this card, he or she has access to certain discounts, birthday gifts etc. As a customer, I also appreciate the fact that the gifts Sephora offers are actually of top quality. [...]

[...] Sephora: case study Summary observations and recommendations. Sephora is a concept that was created in France in 1993, and was acquired by LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey) in 1997. Sephora is one of the largest retail chains of cosmetic products in Europe, selling 250 brands in addition to its own private label. Sephora quickly spread around the world, with its first store in the US in 1998 in New York, and its first Canadian store in 2004 in Toronto. In addition, Sephora is now also setting up in Asia. [...]

[...] The website is clear, and is different depending on the country meaning that it molds to the cultural differences of each country. In order to get customers to buy online, Sephora offers a few deals. Among these, we can find: three free samples with every order, free shipping over free return, free gift packaging The shipping is fast, and buying online allows women to buy cosmetics despite their busy schedules. Appendices Sephora Logo Example of a set. What influences you when buying cosmetics. Sephora's Website. [...]

[...] Sephora caught my attention mostly because of its way of promoting products. First, the fact that each stand represents one specific brand or category of products is a good approach. Women who use cosmetics usually have their go-to brand. Putting all of the makeup items from NARS for instance on the same stand enables customers to see what new products this specific brand has to offer. Moreover, Sephora also succeeds in promoting its products thanks to the packages and sets available in stores. [...]

[...] Sometimes they also have girls dancing at the entrance of the store to get people's attention so that they are more prone to enter the store. Even though Sephora has already proved itself creative, their stores should continue to come up with new promotions and marketing approaches to keep reeling in customers, as it is important for them to never get bored with the label. Price (observations and recommendations). In terms of prices, Sephora is interesting because its products can be either cheap or expensive depending on the brand. However, cosmetics remain relatively expensive. [...]