Key Takeaways:
After years of requests from Belgian beauty consumers, who often had to cross the border to France for a slice of the Sephora pie, the retail giant has reportedly established business in Belgium, allowing shoppers to have their cake and eat it too.
The news follows a subsidiary, registered on Brussels’ Avenue Louise, tied to a leadership team drawn from Sephora France, suggesting not just a symbolic gesture but a serious expansion strategy. Belgium has been a whitespace for Sephora, leaving it as one of the rare European markets where the LVMH-owned business has had no physical retail presence at all.
A Market Dominated by Regional Players (Until Now)
Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg (Benelux) together form a market where prestige beauty has long been shaped not by global giants but by regional chains and perfumeries with deep local roots.
At the core of this retail landscape is Douglas, the German powerhouse that has spent the last decade consolidating its position as Europe’s leading omnichannel beauty retailer. With almost 1,900 stores across 22 countries (102 in Benelux) and a rapidly expanding digital ecosystem, Douglas has long been the de facto authority in premium beauty throughout Benelux. Its first Belgian store, which opened recently in Wijnegem, saw lines around the block, signaling the company’s intention to intensify its presence, just as Sephora was preparing to arrive.
Joel Palix, founder of Palix Unlimited, explained that Belgium has a stable beauty spend, but no dominant premium retailer. Therefore, without Sephora in the picture, Douglas effectively controlled the beauty experience, from assortment, to price, architecture, and the digital innovation cycle. Sephora’s entry would break this equilibrium.
Sephora’s reported move into Belgium would create ripples across the region. For one, it gives global premium brands, especially those in the LVMH portfolio, a direct channel into a market where distribution has been historically mediated by third-party retailers.
Palix believes the strategy of Sephora is to cover all European markets, especially on a regional basis. “Belgium is about a sixth of the size of the French market, so quite significant to complete its European coverage,” he told BeautyMatter. The expansion comes after Sephora has spent the past two years growing its footprint in the UK, successfully giving viral brands like Rhode a physical presence in the region.
The arrival would also change the stakes for omnichannel retail. Douglas has invested heavily in digital transformation, but Sephora brings a different kind of experiential playbook, with more exclusive brands, global buzz, and a retail concept built on trend acceleration rather than legacy assortment.
“Belgium has no equivalent to Sephora’s experiential model: no open-sell makeup environments, no discovery-driven merchandising, no high-animation beauty floor,” Palix added.
Belgian consumers, who have long shopped at Sephora without physical stores of their own, will now have access to its beauty culture without having to cross the border.
But Sephora’s entry into the region isn't a zero-sum threat. The retailer could grow the overall prestige-beauty market by capturing demand that previously leaked to France—or never converted at all. In a country where consumers are accustomed to traveling across borders for specific brands, a localized Sephora ecosystem could recapture spend and re-energize the category.
Belgian Retailers Face Turbulence
The $7.61 billion Benelux beauty market is unique, affluent, and densely populated, but traditionally conservative in the growth of large-format prestige retailers. Belgium in particular has been shaped by specialist perfumeries, pharmacies, and regional chains rather than disruptive global entrants. Sephora’s debut would introduce a new competitive logic where brand exclusivity, experiential retailing, and global trend velocity become differentiators rather than nice-to-haves.
The news comes at a tough time for many of Belgium's homegrown retailers. ICI Paris XL, once an undisputed leader of the pack, has been softened by intensifying competition from AS Watson formats and a younger clientele fueled by TikTok. Consumers have also been taking to social media to complain of delays from the retailer and unfulfilled orders. This demographic, if fed Sephora, could shift almost instantly.
April, the rebrand of Planet Perfume, is said to be fragile after a complex repositioning, and lacks the kind of exclusive brands that generate footfall and loyalty. Positioned between deeply discounted players like Kruidvat and the potential premium pull of Sephora, April runs the risk of being pulled from both ends of the spectrum.
DI is vulnerable. Toeing the line between perfumery and accessible beauty, the retailer could potentially lose customers who decide to trade up to Sephora or trade down to Kruidvat for price.
Upmarket Belgian department store chain Inno is currently navigating financial headwinds after a 39.2% three-year revenue decline and an aging beauty department. The arrival of Sephora would put pressure on the business as it fights for relevance.
While there is risk for some, other retailers may benefit from Sephora’s arrival. Palik noted specifically Skins Beauty, a retailer in the Netherlands that has four stores in Belgium. “They have a beautiful retail concept and could be a great alternative for niche beauty brands.”
Is Benelux Ready for a Global Beauty Giant?
Palik believes the move will be beneficial for both the retailer and its consumers, as well as emerging beauty brands. “Sephora has been quite good at negotiating European exclusives with upcoming beauty brands and will now try to quickly add Belgium to the agreement.”
The key question is not whether Sephora would be able to scale in Belgium, but how quickly it would intend to scale and how competitors like Douglas would respond. Douglas has the advantage of deep infrastructure and long-standing consumer trust, while Sephora has cultural capital and global momentum. The upcoming years will unfold to reveal whether the Belgian market can sustain both, or whether Sephora’s arrival signals the beginning of a larger beauty reshuffling across the Benelux beauty landscape.
After years of anticipation, Belgium is set to no longer be a Sephora-free zone, setting the region's prestige-beauty status quo to never the same again.
