PARIS — Sephora’s Parisian flagship has gotten a major makeover.
Following six-and-a-half months of renovation, the 12,915-square-foot retailer will reopen its doorways to the general public on Friday. That is the primary main transforming the placement has had since opening in 1996.
“Sephora is shaping the status magnificence panorama,” stated Guillaume Motte, the retailer’s president and chief govt officer. “We’re, in the mean time, going via a really inspiring momentum, with vibrant improvements by way of manufacturers, classes and merchandise, new buyer behaviors and expectations.
“It was the right second to reinvent the status magnificence flagship expertise,” he continued. “And, in fact, the attitude of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Video games [for which Sephora is an official partner of the torch relay] made it an ideal second for this renovation.”
“We needed to create a extra differentiated expertise that brings collectively the very best of magnificence from all around the globe, with an environment that’s deeply linked to the shop’s distinctive location,” continued Sylvie Moreau, president, Europe and Center East at Sephora.
There was only one metropolis in thoughts.
“The inspiration is coming from Paris,” stated Benoît Ponte, normal supervisor of Sephora France, throughout a walk-through final week of the shop, which was bustling with workers organising for the reopening.
The flagship’s design nods vigorously to the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, on which it stands, at numbers 70 to 72, with a 2.6-foot-wide path of hand-set snow white marble paving working straight via the shop. Sephora’s signature black-and-white stripes seem on some columns flanking that.
Making all the things glow is the 295-foot-long illuminated ceiling, which might be adjusted to resemble pure gentle. The concept was to provide the phantasm of being underneath one in every of Paris’ glass-covered walkways.
Upon coming into, Sephora’s partitions appear to be fabricated from the limestone used on Parisian buildings, but it surely’s trompe l’oeil. On the left-hand aspect is a click-and-collect space with a selfie-friendly, multihued gentle field.
A bit additional in, company will discover a record of the shop’s providers, like make-up, skincare, hair, perfume discovery, brows, face glow and customized engraving. That hangs throughout from a wall ablaze with Sephora’s flame emblem.
The Nook is dedicated to particular person manufacturers, with the primary being Dior. Then the complete model expertise rolls out.
“It’s very premium,” stated Ponte of the choice. “Some manufacturers are solely at Sephora Champs-Élysées.”
An instance of a label present in no different Sephoras is Maison Francis Kurkdjian, a perfume model that shares the retailer’s mum or dad firm, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.
Francis Kurkdjian can be offered within the part dedicated to high-premium perfume manufacturers. Going through which are premium make-up labels.
“You’ve the Magnificence Hub, which is actually the Arc de Triomphe inside the shop,” stated Ponte, pointing to the 540-square-foot central house. “We will animate it on our personal, however the manufacturers are animating as effectively. For the approaching two months we can have a brand new model doing one thing every single day.”
At first, make-up and skincare labels will largely take over the hub, which is modular.
There may be an space showcasing which manufacturers are scorching on social media, plus The Subsequent Massive Factor gondola and the Present Hub.
Reda Slaoui, director of structure and design, Europe and Center East at Sephora, highlighted some noble supplies applied, such because the high-quality marble used on some counters, in addition to the ground.
For the primary time in a Sephora, there are massive inexperienced crops.
“Visually it has an impact when you’ve gotten crops within the house, but it surely additionally helps with the air high quality,” stated Slaoui, including the brand new air-con system filters to the utmost.
A lot thought was poured into company social accountability initiatives. There are, as an illustration, fewer digital screens within the new location versus its predecessor. Every LED system was changed with essentially the most consumption-efficient iteration.
“This retailer will scale back by 50 % the vitality consumption that we had within the earlier retailer,” stated Ponte.
A rendering of the outside of Sephora’s renovated Parisian flagship.
Acoustics-wise, will probably be quieter right here, too, as a consequence of some corrugated textures on partitions, in addition to supplies used, corresponding to wooden.
This flagship additionally sells the wide selection of status perfume — for ladies and for males — and coloration cosmetics discovered at different Sephoras. These embody the likes of Profit, Charlotte Tilbury and Uncommon Magnificence.
The retailer’s signature assortment has its personal division, and there’s an space for hair care.
“The class of hair is booming at Sephora,” stated Ponte, explaining it’s been a phase of focus for the retailer over the previous two years in France, the place its promoting floor has doubled. Some manufacturers lining cabinets embody Kérastase, Gisou, Sisley and Moroccanoil, in addition to Dyson equipment.
The place the money registers as soon as stood on the far proper of the shop now homes the skincare division, replete with strips of wooden lining the partitions and elevated ceiling. This huge space, with manufacturers corresponding to Byoma, Drunk Elephant and Laneige, has skin-related providers. It’s illuminated with pure gentle streaming via massive, frosted home windows.
“Like hair care, it’s one other booming class for us,” stated Ponte.
Merchandising was tweaked.
“We optimized the house of the manufacturers” to assist enhance circulation, stated Slaoui, explaining that some gondolas are shorter than earlier than, measuring 6.5 toes quite than 10 toes in size.
“However on the finish of the day, we specific the identical quantity of merchandise,” stated Ponte.
Different exclusives for France embody Make-up by Mario, Prada Magnificence and Glow Recipe.
Previous to the reworking, Sephora’s Paris flagship boasted 12 million guests a yr, of which one-quarter had been vacationers from outdoors France. Many are thought of VIP shoppers.
Per day, there have been greater than 10,000 folks visiting, whereas after the renovation footfall ranges ought to be larger, in accordance with Ponte.
“That’s why the circulation is so essential to the idea and the format,” stated Slaoui.
The money registers now are positioned instantly in the back of the shop underneath a big display screen and self-checkout is accessible.
“We promote a product each 15 seconds,” stated Ponte.
A non-public lounge was expanded for VIP clients or manufacturers to animate, with providers potential.
“We have now Sephora codes — black and white — with very stunning supplies and the codes of Paris,” stated Slaoui. “We’re like in an condo right here.”
This retailer renovation is backed by the most important funding within the historical past of Sephora Europe, in accordance with Ponte, who wouldn’t reveal numbers.
General, the retailer goals to take a global-yet-local strategy.
“Sephora is the one status magnificence omnichannel retailer that’s really world. Nevertheless, we wish to guarantee we keep related with the native shopper,” stated Motte.
“Our new shops, such because the Champs-Élysées flagship, as our first London retailer and our newly renovated shops in Shanghai, Singapore and Wuhan, are sources of inspiration for our future renovations, as they illustrate our technique and the expertise we wish to present to our clients,” he stated, including Sephora additionally learns from different initiatives, corresponding to its partnership with Kohl’s within the U.S.
“However there isn’t any ‘template,’” stated Motte. “Every of them have to be significant domestically and resonate with native communities.”
