Sephora
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Sephora is a chain of beauty product stores founded in France in 1983 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 518 stores in 16 countries. It carries over 250 brands 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.
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:
- France (where the brand was born in 1969)
- Canada (first shop opened in Toronto in 2004)
- China
- Czech Republic (since 2002)
- Greece (since 2000)
- Italy (since 1998)
- Luxembourg (since 1996)
- Monaco (since 1996)
- Poland (since 1999)
- Portugal (since 1998)
- Romania (since 2000)
- Russia (since 2003)
- Serbia (since 2007)
- Spain (first shop opened in 1998 in Madrid)
- Turkey (since 2007)
- United States (first shop opened in 1998 in New York City)
- United Arab Emirates (opened on 8 March 2007 in Dubai Festival City)
- Qatar (opened in May 2007 in Villagio Mall)
- Oman (opened in October 2007 in Muscat City Center)
[edit] References
- ^ Blank, Wayne. Zipporah Bible Study. Retrieved on 2007-09-18.
- ^ a b c Sephora.com: About Sephora
- ^ Sephora.com: International
- ^ JCPenney press release announcing Sephora partnership
[edit] External links
- Sephora.com
- Sephora.frfr:Sephora
pl:Sephora
