Key Takeaways:
As the Middle East steadily grows and emerges as one of the most attractive and commercially powerful beauty markets, the race for attention, loyalty, and relevance has never been more intense. With the region offering fertile soil for international beauty powerhouses like Watsons, Ulta Beauty, and more to enter and grow, Sephora continues to dominate and command an undeniable lead.
SEPHORiA, the retailer’s large-scale beauty festival, made a stop in Dubai in November, with tickets selling out in minutes and crowds pushing to get through and reach their favorite brand booths first. It was yet another reminder that the appetite for live, interactive beauty retail in the region is explosive.
With their Dubai Mall flagship becoming one of their highest-grossing stores globally, attracting an international clientele of upwards of 10,000 visitors on several days, and the Mall of the Emirates flagship undergoing a major revamp to enhance the experience for local consumers and residents, the cultural and commercial pull of Sephora Middle East is hard to ignore.
Following the success of SEPHORiA, which welcomed more than 10,000 visitors this year (a significant increase from last year), BeautyMatter caught up with Hasmik Panossian, General Manager, Sephora Middle East, to understand how the retailer continues to deepen loyalty, command attention, and innovate to keep their customers coming back in one of beauty’s fastest-growing regions.
How would you describe the Sephora Middle East customer, and what do you think keeps bringing them back, driving such strong loyalty? Is it customer experience, omnichannel integration, store design, influencer partnerships, or something else?
Our Sephora Middle East customer is incredibly passionate about beauty; they're curious, trend aware, beauty smart, , brand savvy, eager to experiment, and always ahead of what’s next. They’re also highly demanding in the best way; they expect excellence, innovation, and a truly seamless experience, which pushes us to constantly elevate everything we do. But what keeps them coming back isn’t just one thing—it’s the entire Sephora mix and our unique omnichannel experience that starts even before they step into our stores.
For many, the journey begins on our app, where they explore new arrivals, build wishlists, and get inspired long before making a purchase. By the time they visit us in person, they already have a sense of what excites them. Ultimately, people don’t come to Sephora for a transaction—they come for an experience, for inspiration. They want to play, swatch, smell, explore, and walk out feeling like they’ve just had a mini makeover. Our store design also plays a key role—our spaces are built to be beauty playgrounds—intuitive, exciting, filled with discovery, and staffed by experts who genuinely love helping customers find their perfect beauty products.
And finally, our connection to our community is essential. Beauty lovers in the Middle East are deeply influenced by authentic creators who understand the culture. When those voices fall in love with a product, our customers feel that excitement and trust. In a region full of choice, our customers keep choosing Sephora because we make them feel inspired, understood, and fabulous every single time.
Your Dubai Mall flagship store is renowned as one of (if not) Sephora’s highest-grossing stores globally. What do you think makes this store so unique, and why does it have such a strong pull?
Our Dubai Mall store is a flagship in every sense of the word. It attracts a global clientele, with some 13,000 visitors every day. This is partly due to its location in the world's largest shopping mall, a major tourist attraction in the international city-state, and its cosmopolitan population, but also to the energy and innovation that Sephora has brought to the area. What makes it so unique is the blend of its strong personality, the incredible breadth of our assortment, and the diversity of both our customers and our team, which gives the space a truly global energy. The atmosphere is high energy yet deeply welcoming, and the scale of the store allows people to explore, discover, and engage at their own pace. It’s become a genuine beauty destination—not just a place to shop, but a place to be inspired. A destination for the world, where beauty is discovered in new ways every day.
While the Dubai Mall flagship anchors Sephora’s global presence, the Mall of the Emirates store seems to be expanding and evolving, too. Does the MoE store also play an important strategic role? How does it complement the Dubai Mall flagship? Is the Dubai Mall flagship more driven by tourists, and the MoE one more catered to locals?
Absolutely—the Mall of the Emirates store plays a very important strategic role for us. It’s our second-biggest store in the region and is currently undergoing a major renovation that will introduce even more beauty services and elevated experiences. MoE has a strong local and resident-driven customer base, and this makeover is all about delighting that core community with new, bigger, and more immersive ways to experience beauty. While Dubai Mall attracts a highly international audience, MoE allows us to go deeper into tailored services and experiences that resonate with our everyday customers. Together, the two stores strike the perfect balance.
Would it be fair to say that Dubai is no longer “just one of Sephora’s markets” but is emerging as a beauty capital of the world and one of Sephora’s most important markets globally?
The Middle East has always been an important market for Sephora, largely because of the deep beauty knowledge and passion of our customers. Beauty is not new to this region—the consumer here is sophisticated, engaged, and sets a high standard for innovation and experience. With two major Sephora global flagships located in the city, Dubai is a key beauty hub and one of our most important markets worldwide. Its growth is fueled by a powerful mix of trend-savvy locals, international visitors, and a vibrant influencer and social media culture that accelerates the pace of beauty trends.
Combined with our omnichannel strategy, exclusive brand portfolio, and immersive in-store experiences, Dubai has become a place where Sephora can innovate, inspire, and help shape global beauty trends.
How have the Middle Eastern beauty consumer’s shopping habits evolved in recent years? Are they still mostly discovering new brands and products in-store or is a lot of the discovery now happening online? What’s your current split between online and offline channels?
We strongly believe in our omnichannel strategy, and do not see the two (digital and physical) as separate. We invest and try to bring the same level of excellence across all touch points. While in-store discovery remains important—especially for trying shades, textures, and new products firsthand—more shoppers are discovering brands online through social media, influencers, and digital content. We’ve noticed that customers often research online before visiting a store, or browse in-store and then purchase online, blending convenience with experience.
In terms of sales, offline still drives most purchases, but online is growing rapidly, particularly for repeat buys and skincare or everyday essentials. Younger, tech-savvy shoppers rely heavily on e-commerce for both discovery and convenience. So for us, this means balancing a seamless online experience with engaging in-store moments, while leveraging digital content and influencer-led inspiration to connect with our audience wherever they are.
After a breakout year for SEPHORiA in 2024, tickets sold out within minutes this year. What do you think made this edition unique and special—and how does it reflect the growing appetite for beauty-tainment experiences in this region?
This year’s SEPHORiA felt truly special, building on the excitement of 2024. What made it stand out was the immersive, inspiring experience—from 70+ brand activations and exclusive product drops to masterclasses with top makeup artists and founders. Every corner offered something to see, try, and share, making it less about shopping and more about exploration, inspiration, and fun. The fact that tickets sold out within minutes shows just how much the region craves these kinds of experiential beauty events.
It also highlights a bigger trend in the Middle East: beauty is becoming all about experiences, not just products. People want to learn, connect, and be part of a community while discovering brands in exciting, interactive ways. SEPHORiA perfectly captures that beauty-tainment appetite and shows how strongly Sephora can inspire and engage the region’s passionate beauty lovers.
Several other new players are now focusing on beauty-tainment as a way to engage consumers. What do you think gives SEPHORiA such an advantage over other beauty and entertainment experiences in the region?
SEPHORiA has an advantage because it brings the true DNA of Sephora to life—it multiplies the store experience in a way that feels immersive, playful, and deeply connected to our brand. It isn’t just an event; it’s a full beauty playground where our community can discover, learn, and have fun. We bring together our best brands, interactive activations, masterclasses with beauty experts, and plenty of moments designed for inspiration and sharing. Every corner is crafted to feel exciting, creative, and a little magical.
What really sets SEPHORiA apart is the combination of trust, scale, and community. People know the brands, they know Sephora, and they feel part of something bigger. Many players are exploring beauty-tainment, but SEPHORiA blends credibility, creativity, and true immersion in a way that keeps customers coming back year after year.
What were some “wow” moments from this year—either first-of-its-kind collaborations, immersive tech experiences, or something that you believe will become a model for future events?
We hosted more brands than ever before, giving visitors an incredible range of products, experiences, and discoveries under one roof. Bringing SEPHORiA to Expo City Dubai—and especially taking over the iconic Al Wasl Dome—created a truly unforgettable setting. The Dome is one of Dubai’s most spectacular landmarks, and transforming it with immersive content, beauty storytelling, and interactive visuals made the experience feel uniquely powerful and symbolic of Dubai’s status as a global beauty capital.
We also welcomed new, inspiring brand founders, giving customers the chance to connect directly and dive deeper into the stories behind the brands they love. And with more on-the-spot activations than ever, visitors could play, explore, and experience products in real time.
Looking ahead, how do you see SEPHORiA evolving in the next 2-5 years? Will it only be in Dubai always, or could we see new editions across the Middle East?
Looking ahead, we see SEPHORiA continuing to evolve as a celebration of beauty, creativity, and immersive experiences. We’ll keep pushing boundaries with innovative activations, exclusive brand moments, and tech-driven experiences that make every edition feel fresh and exciting.
The focus will always be on creating memorable, engaging moments for our community and brand partners, keeping the energy, inspiration, and fun at the heart of what SEPHORiA represents in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
What is the next big challenge or frontier for Sephora in the GCC? And what’s one bold or exciting move you’re preparing for that signals the next chapter of growth?
The next big frontier for Sephora in the GCC is continuing to redefine what beauty can be—making bigger, more immersive playgrounds for discovery, fun, and inspiration, while staying true to the Sephora brand our community loves. Our customer is very demanding, so the challenge is how we continue to surprise, delight, and excite beauty fans in a market that’s growing smarter, more curious, and more connected every year.
With regards to SEPHORiA in particular, we’re preparing bold activations and innovative experiences that push engagement even further, creating moments that make people stop, explore, and leave talking about SEPHORiA long after the event ends.
