PARIS — Sephora has unveiled details of the primary phase of its reentry into the U.K. market.

“After many rumors, Sephora is finally coming to the U.K.,” said Sylvie Moreau, the retailer’s president of Europe and the Middle East.

On Oct. 17, Feelunique.com, which Sephora acquired one yr ago, will likely be transformed into sephora.co.uk. That can have all of the associated codes, including the sweetness retailer’s signature black-and-white stripes. The web site will likely be twinned with Sephora’s application within the U.K., as well.

Beauty brands available on the platform are to incorporate quite a few exclusive to the country, including Tarte Cosmetics, Ilia, Makeup by Mario, One/Size by Patrick Starrr, Gxve by Gwen Stefani, Skinfix and Vegamour, plus Sephora’s private-label line.

Premium beauty brands on offer are to comprise Pat McGrath Labs, Fenty Beauty, Gisou, Rose Inc, JVN and Glow Recipe, amongst others.

In phase two, a Sephora brick-and-mortar store is about to open within the U.K. in a yet-to-be disclosed location in London, in March 2023.

That news confirms a report published by WWD on Aug. 23.

“At Sephora, we innovate day-after-day to construct essentially the most loved beauty community. We’re delighted to bring Sephora to the U.K., responding to Britain’s strong demand for our unique prestige beauty experience,” said Chris de Lapuente, chairman and chief executive officer of Sephora, in a press release. “U.K. customers will likely be encouraged to explore and discover the perfect versions of themselves as we support them of their beauty journey with a unbelievable curation of time-tested classics and latest indie brands.

“We are going to offer British consumers a pioneering collection of beauty that’s best at school for innovation, diversity and inclusion,” he continued. “The U.K. is home to a dynamic beauty and well-being market that Sephora will aim to surprise and delight through our trademark know-how and creativity. Our passionate team cannot wait to serve and encourage U.K. customers under the Sephora brand.”

Taking up the U.K. isn’t for the faint of heart, said Moreau, speaking during a press conference held mostly for journalists from the U.K. on the retailer’s headquarters in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, a Paris suburb, in early September.

“We come to the U.K. very humbly,” she said. ”It has some of the engaged, experienced consumer. It’s an enormous battleground.”

This isn’t Sephora’s first foray into the U.K. The retailer opened its debut store there in 2000 in Kent’s Bluewater shopping mall, then opened nine doors overall. In 2005, those were all shuttered, unable to interrupt through amid intense competition from Boots and others.

But the sweetness landscape has modified subsequently, as has Sephora’s muscle.

“It’s precisely that Sephora is a brand itself that we could succeed in numerous continents,” said Moreau, who underlined that last yr, Sephora was the one multibrand retailer to make the highest 100 rating of best global brands for 2021, compiled by Interbrand.

“The second strategic alternative is we imagine in stores,” she continued, adding those are what drive the strongest point of difference. “The shop is our social hub.”

In 2021, Sephora opened greater than 300 stores, primarily in China, the Middle East and U.S., in Kohl’s.

“They are going to at all times be the purest expression of our brand,” said Moreau, of brick-and-mortar, adding: “After all, we embrace e-commerce since 1999.”

And that digital drive keeps amplifying. In June 2021, as an example, Sephora and Zalando announced they signed a long-term strategic partnership to create a prestige beauty experience online, starting in Germany.

“Fundamentally, our strategic alternative is omnichannel excellence,” continued Moreau, adding the hot button is combing the perfect of each worlds — brick-and-mortar and e-commerce.

Sephora has greater than 5 million visits per day in its stores and web sites combined, and 165 million consumers have a Sephora loyalty card.

“So, it’s just like the whole population of France, the U.K. and Canada combined,” Moreau said. “We strongly connect with this community.”

Overall, Sephora is in 36 countries, with about 3,000 sales points. The retailer has a workforce of 36,000 people, of which 25,000 are beauty advisers.

Moreau said the Sephora and Feelunique teams have been cocreating a strategic plan.

The concept behind Sephora acquiring Feelunique was to not start from scratch within the U.K., where the platform already has a reach of 1.3 million customers and been successfully serving them, continued Moreau.

Feelunique ships about 80,000 products per day.

Combined, such elements “make our probabilities of success way higher” within the U.K., she said. “[Feelunique] has an enormous experience of leading beauty [there].”

Moreau described the Feelunique team as being “like-minded people.”

“Culture in mergers and acquisitions is an enormous criteria for fulfillment, and we could feel it from day one,” she said.

The launch of sephora.co.uk has been timed for the all-important end-of-year holiday season, and is supposed to present the message that Sephora is present for all U.K. consumers, in response to Moreau.

“It’s going to be very similar in appear and feel to the Sephora Europe sites,” she said. “But Feelunique has wonderful digital capabilities, and proprietary tricks, so we’ve actually rescaled their backbone. And that’s an example of the perfect of each.”

Feelunique’s loyalty program will likely be rebranded, too, into Sephora.

To assist have a good time Sephora’s arrival within the U.K., the retailer will hold an immersive prestige beauty event on Oct. 20 at One Marylebone London. It’s to incorporate a brand fair, masterclasses, beauty talks and surprise guests, the retailer said. Tickets for it are to be available starting Oct. 11, with details to come back about that on Sephora U.K.’s Instagram account.

Moreau said after the London store opening, Sephora, “over time, progressively, surely, steadily but prudently, as well, [will] extend [its] wings within the U.K.”