Sephora’s return to the UK could spell competition for Boots

The French cosmetics retailer, Sephora, has recently returned to the United Kingdom with the launch of an online store, with plans to open a flagship store in London sometime during Spring 2023.

Though the location of Sephora’s new flagship store and opening date have not been disclosed yet, for many beauty and skincare enthusiasts, this is the best news they have heard all year. The retailer initially left the UK in 2005 after trading for five years from just six stores, the first of which being a flagship store located in Bluewater, Kent. 

Despite its departure, for some time British Sephora fans were able to purchase their favourite products from the retailer when the company added an option for UK shipping to its website in 2014. However, new GDPR rules put a stop to that arrangement in 2018.  

It was then rumoured back in 2019 that Sephora would open a store in the Westfield London shopping centre, but those plans never came to fruition. 

Reports at the time of Sephora’s exit from the UK market speculated that high rents and competition from Boots were the brand’s reasons for pulling the plug. And for good reason; in its recent financial results, Boots has reportedly seen its retail sales exceed pre-pandemic levels and its performance “significantly” contributing to a 65% increase in Walgreens Boots Alliance International’s full year adjusted operating income. 

Though competition from drugstore giants Boots and Superdrug may’ve pushed Sephora out 17 years ago, its prestige and brand recognition within both the online and brick-and-mortar beauty retail spaces could make it a worthy opponent for Boot’s cosmetic offerings in the present day. 

Sephora offers brands such as Tarte Cosmetics, Ilia Beauty, Makeup By Mario, One/Size, GXVE, Skinfix, Vegamour, and its own Sephora Collection, while Boots has added another 15 big names in the fourth quarter, which include Armani Beauty, Elemis and REN Skincare. 

Each retailer has very big names to draw in consumers, so it may be reasonable to believe that competition will be tight. However, though Boots’ sales results were largely driven by its performance in beauty, it also has offerings in health and personal care, as well as a new online healthcare service, which Sephora does not provide. 

Both retailers have different advantages; where Boots has diversified its specialisation to include more than just pharmaceuticals, Sephora is well-seasoned in the business of beauty retailing. This is just a waiting game to see if consumers develop a preference for one over the other.