What woman wouldn’t enjoy shopping at a store which provided her with every makeup line imaginable not to mention a full selection of fragrances, hair care products, and personal care products for both men and women? Sephora is truly a woman’s dream retailer, catering to every budget. Owned by the leading luxury goods retailer LVMH, Sephora is a perfect fit to this company’s portfolio of over 50 luxury brands. It’s no wonder Canadian women couldn’t wait for the opening of the first Sephora store in Toronto’s Eaton Centre, and their second location in Yorkdale Shopping Centre.
The Yorkdale location is bright and airy, with plenty of displays and shelving adorned with all the newest makeup products and fragrances. Sephora carries a number of brands including Benefit, Smashbox, Cargo, Hard Candy, Make Up Forever, Lancome, Stilla and Christian Dior. These lines are hard to find, as The Bay and Sears carry mostly Estee Lauder cosmetics (Clinique, Mac, Estee Lauder, etc). Sephora also carries a large array of products that carry their name, such as lipsticks, liners, brushes, mascaras and makeup cases.
On any given day, it is not surprising to see the store full of women of all ages, spending a fortune on name brand cosmetics. What is surprising though is the lack of customer service provided to these customers, who are willing to spend upwards of $500 for a few products that may improve their appearance. The sales associates are teenagers or young adults with absolutely no training as cosmeticians, and who know barely anything about the products. My customer service experience was quite poor, with not one associate approaching me when I entered and began browsing in the store. When I finally found someone to help me, I was extremely disappointed. As I began to ask questions about a specific product line, the sales girl had no clue as to what I was talking about. I asked her about some of their body washes, and I knew more about the product than she did.
I ended up purchasing a few items such as a Jaqua Body lotion and wash set, a Hard Candy nail polish, Laurence Dumont eau de parfum in Vanilla Mure (blackberry), and
Pictures taken from www.sephora.com
Overall, Sephora is a great place for all of women’s beauty needs and wants. By improving the customer service and having knowledgable associates on staff, Sephora may be able to increase consumer spending and therefore improve their overall sales.