How Sephora Revolutionized Makeup Consumption | WSJ The Economics Of

The makeup giant Sephora played an outsized role in creating the modern cosmetics industry.

WSJ reporter Khadeeja Safdar unpacks the unconventional business strategies that led to Sephora’s early success and the retailer’s more recent moves to adapt to the pandemic market.

Photo: Nina Westervelt/Bloomberg

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[BasicallyLauralol]

They are not “brand agnostic”. Having worked for Sephora, I know that brand representatives go to stores every day, and the beauty advisors are forced to push products for the brands with reps in store that day. Always be wary of what a beauty advisor is trying to sell you.

[dameazize]

I love the terms used in this:
"Brand agnostic" = "We sell what will make the store the most money, because they are a business that does not care about you"
"We respond to trends" = "Get ready to waste your money and the environment on make up that will look ridiculous 2 months from now!"
"Market in a personalized way" = "we scrape your data to target products to you, because again we are a company and will do anything to get you to buy more"
"Exclusive line of products= "we dominate a market so much and are part of a monopolistic conglomerate to the point we can create false scarcity and dictate prices"
"We have diverse brands" = "Do you know how much money POC spend on make-up?! We would be idiots not to cater to that market"
"A purpose-driven brand" = "The purpose is to make money by encouraging our costumers to over consume!"

[xKimiCHILDx]

I had better experiences going to department stores' beauty counters than going to Sephora. Most of the sales associates in Sephora will not assist you unless you look like a certain type of client. As someone who normally doesn't wear makeup except for special occasions (other words, won't wear makeup while shopping), I am ignored and often disregarded when looking for help. The beauty counters go above and beyond providing you with helps and tips when they aren't flooded with customers. I also found it easier to get skincare samples at beauty counters too.

[TheStitchWitchPodcast]

As someone in the makeup community it’s always interesting to see these mainstream tales on what is everyday life in my niche. Actually in the beauty enthusiast world, Sephora is dying a bit compared to what seemed its peak, 4-6 years ago.

[seasky]

I lost interest in Sephora several years ago when I realized just how their "trends" is just to get you to spend money on items that are expensive and not necessarily useful. I have found doing my own research and trying makeup from around the world so much more efficient than walking into a Sephora.

[andreahuh]

Sephora was a must-go in my 20s. Nowadays the store is way too crowded with people, overwhelming with staff offering to help, and feels like make-up Costco Warehouse rather than a well-curated shop that I felt it used to be. I’ve also plateaued on most tools and palettes so I would not go into a store unless it was an emergency.

[slimtodress]

I have been Rouge for a few years (don't judge me please 🥺) until a couple of years ago when I realized I own so much makeup that I can't possibly use it up in a lifetime. Also a lot of products seem repetitive. Since then, I haven't purchased a single product except for mascara (which has to be replaced more often). I stopped using foundation all together and focused on skincare more to make sure my skin actually doesn't need any foundation. I don't buy skincare at Sephora because I prefer more niche, professional brands which are not focused on marketing but actually on creating formulas that work efficiently and safe on skin. I had a major clean up of my makeup collection, purging a looot of it (didn't even want to count how much money I spent on all that) and now my makeup collection is much more focused on what I will actually use vs what Sephora and YouTube tells me I need.

[jacquelinelugo]

Honestly makeup is shifting so much right now. I see a lot of people not buying super heavy makeup anymore and going for a more natural look. People are also not buying as much high end makeup but more drug store and indie brands. Also skincare is more of the heavy focus now since the start of the pandemic

[RachelJayne]

I’m in Australia, and even though I have access to Sephora, I rarely if ever shop there because everything about there store is awful.

If you walk in bare faced you won’t be able to get help, but if you walk in with a full face of makeup on they won’t leave you alone.

The store is super loud (music) and brighter than the sun, and when you make the effort to go into the store - they pretty much never have the stock of whatever it is you want. Plus, their point system is a joke.

Mecca is by far superior, and I shop there very consistently. Better in store experience, better service no matter what you look like, and they basically always have stock! 💕

[PriusRaj]

I try to buy direct from the makeup brand because I'm not a huge fan of Sephora, or any "middle" market tbh. I do buy some things at Sephora tho because lots of brands don't ship to Alaska while Sephora does.

[incresearch]

Well, yup, regardless of what is being said in the comments section (which I don't doubt), they have certainly done well in terms of having built a profitable biz.

[SweetMistreat]

Pat McGrath's line should have been featured as prominently if not more than Fenty given that Pat is an actual high fashion makeup artist with a brand doing very well

[ramirenriquez]

The whole consumption industry is producing more products we don't need much of. I know that cosmetic products enhance people's looks or moods which boost confidence and all, but with the vast options we have nowadays, we don't need them.

[annamokrushina]

And the point of this video is - what precisely? Feels like an ad to me

[majd_shoots]

There's no way they can afford all that marketing budget if people didn't buy these things with a ridiculous profit margins
When that Asian guy said "42 dollars" for that bottle, I was like 😧

[thefocusedlife]

The sad part is they could earn so much more if their associates weren't so rude, same with Ulta. When you go in Sephora you know they don't wanna be bothered.

[jennid]

Went to Sephora in Paris and after about 45 minutes, spent £400+ on stuff for me and my daughter. Afterwards we went for drinks. I opened one of the eye pencil boxes I’d just bought and the box was empty. The eye pencil was £23 so we went back to the store. The assistant was highly suspicious when I told her. She said she needed authorisation from her manager to give me a refund or replace it. She then disappeared for around 30 minutes. Eventually she came back down with the manager, and they replaced it. They 100% had watched security footage. I was furious. Particularly after spending over £400. I’ve never been back and will never buy from them again.

[ouihui]

idk... most sephora associates in sf/bay area struggle to match/get me to the right products I need. and tiktok influencers (including the ones shown in this video) has let me down in the past. Always do your own research.

[oatwolf]

I'll never forget how Sephora did 180 on their employees at the beginning of panini - first PR emails about how they're going to take care of their employees and then laid off said employees during a Zoom call 🙄

[megnelli]

Where is the economics? Misleading thumbnail! Shame