Sephora launched its first Store of the Future in China, on East Nanjing Road in Shanghai, following the opening of the first new concept store in Singapore late last year. This new store design centers around delivering an immersive retail experience integrating services and exclusively curated brands with technology and digital elements.
"The Store of the Future in Shanghai showcases our obsession for experiential retail, where consumers get to enjoy a curated and on-trend beauty offer, tailored and personalized services and classes, as well as digital touchpoints used to unlock consumer journeys within the store," shared Alia Gogi, President of Sephora Asia. "Specifically customized to the unique preferences of Chinese consumers, we believe this store will set a new benchmark in prestige beauty retail in China."
Sephora first entered the Chinese market in April 2005, when it opened its first store on Huaihai Middle Road in Shanghai, building a diverse and inclusive beauty community in China by leveraging its strengths in product curation, celebrating and delighting consumers with a constantly evolving retail concept both on and offline.
In tandem with the launch, Sephora introduced more then 220 new products from over 36 global brands, including Tatcha, Pat McGrath Labs, Hourglass, Anastasia, and Dr. Dennis Gross. The retailer has also begun incorporating more domestic brands into its merchandising assortment. As part of this C-Beauty initiative, Cha Ling, Maogeping Light, Wei, and other premium brands will debut in Sephora.
"Sephora will continue to introduce new and differentiated products to the market while showcasing new trends," said Maggie Chan, Managing Director of Sephora Greater China. "Apart from incorporating beauty tech, Sephora's Store of the Future in Shanghai is part of our ongoing commitment to deepen our engagement with the beauty community in China. We are excited to continue learning from our customers and partners to deliver a retail experience that best suits their needs and desires."
The new store merges innovative digital touchpoints and technology to deliver hyper-personalized services:
Care analysis: An advanced skin analysis device powered by big data analytics for a hyper-personalized consultation.
Look analysis: AI-generated makeup trends for inspiration and tutorials on the latest beauty looks with product recommendations.
Lift and learn: Panels and price tags equipped with radio frequency identification (RFID) sensors to educate consumers on various product ingredients and provide access to millions of customer reviews.
Mobile POS: Check out anywhere with our beauty advisors to skip lines.
Personalized gift packaging: Individualized voice messages, scents, and gift boxes.
Services: Beauty advisors are at hand to provide 15-minute skincare consultations, 60-minute makeup services, and 15-minute beauty play services to bring virtual artist looks to life.
Beauty Live Studio: For the first time in China, Sephora will also have a purpose-built Beauty Live Studio to gather Sephora's beauty community for exclusive events or masterclasses.
Sephora currently has roughly 3,000 points of sale across 36 markets and is strategically focused on accelerating its global footprint, boosting its global merchandising team last summer when Global Chief Merchandising Officer, Artemis Patrick gave up her North American duties to build a global team. Many emerging beauty brands in North America are leveraging this new focus to fast-track global expansion.
