Sephora History: Founding, Timeline, and Milestones - Zippia (2024)

Sephora was first launched in Paris in August 1970.

The well-known fact is that Dominique Mandonnaud founded Sephora in France in 1970.

That company became part of Boots PLC in 1979.

By 1984, Mandonnaud had opened a total of four Shop 8 stores.

By 1987, Promodes had separated itself from Shop 8.

After years of losses, the Sephora chain managed to turn a profit of just FRF 270,000 on revenues of FRF 606 million in 1992.

Shop 8, through Altamir, agreed to pay FRF 360 million ($61 million) for the Sephora chain in a deal completed in September 1993.

In 1993, the company launched the new format under a new name, Mille et Un Parfums, with a first store in the Belle-Epine shopping mall in Val-de-Marne, near Paris.

Mandonnaud is credited for designing and executing Sephora's "assisted self-service" sales experience, which separated itself from standard retail models for cosmetics by encouraging customers to test products in retail locations before purchasing. It was acquired by Dominique Mandonnaud in 1993, who merged the purchase with his own perfume chain under the Sephora brand.

By the end of 1997, Sephora's sales had already topped the FRF 2 billion.

Sephora turned to the international market, opening its first flagship store in New York City in 1998.

The company’s website launched in the US in 1999 and it hosts one of the world’s largest beauty forums – Beauty Insider Community.

In 2004, the company boosted its presence in Eastern Europe, buying up the Empik perfume chain in Poland, then forming a partnership with leading Russian perfumery L'Etoile to bring the Sephora format to that market.

In 2005, the Selective Retailing division posted sales of EUR 3.65 billion ($4.3 billion).

By 2005, Sephora operated more than 100 stores in Italy, including its Milan flagship location, opened that year.

That product was followed by the launch in 2005 of a full line of Sephora skin care items.

In October 2006, Sephora began opening stores inside JCPenney.

By 2006, the company had decided to exit the former altogether.

In 2006, the steady success of the line of Sephora branded products led the company to announce its plans to emphasize the future development of the brand.

Sephora extended its operation to the Middle Eastern markets in 2007 and opened over 40 Sephora UAE and KSA stores.

In 2007, Sephora launched a client loyalty program.

Sephora created a dedicated mobile app only in 2010.

On July 26, 2021, Sephora agreed with Palamon Capital Partners the purchase of Feelunique.com, an UK online retailer of prestige beauty goods founded in 2005, with 1.3 million active customers from 120 countries and more than 35,000 products from over 800 brands. It had been acquired from Palamon Capital Partners for £26 million in 2012.

On 1 January 2014, Calvin McDonald replaced David Suliteanu as president and chief executive officer of Sephora Americas.

On 26 August 2016, Sephora opened its 400th location in North America on the Magnificent Mile in Chicago.

On 31 March 2017, Sephora opened its largest retail location in North America near Herald Square in New York City.

The company also began its expansion in India at the beginning of 2018.

In 2018 Sephora announced its new Clean Beauty category, a curated collection of organic and eco-friendly products without sulfates, parabens, formaldehyde, and other potentially harmful chemical ingredients.

In 2019, Sephora introduced a range of credit card products: Sephora Credit Card, Sephora Visa Credit Card, and Sephora Visa Signature Credit Card.

At the beginning of 2020, the largest ever Sephora destination opened in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

In 2020, the company partnered with Klarna to provide an option of paying in installments.

Sephora will be replacing all cosmetics areas at Kohl’s with 2,500 square foot shops, starting with 200 locations in the fall of 2021.

San Francisco, CA

Dominique Mandonnaud