Sephora has a global massive presence but the LVMH-owned retailer is thinking locally as they grow in the UK. The company has plans to open 20 new stores across the country by the year. Each time they open a store, they think about how they can show up in that location specifically.
“It is very important for us not to take the blueprint of our existence and just copy and paste here,” said Sabina Ellahi, head of brand & communications at Sephora UK, during the Brand Innovators Marketing Leadership Summit in London. “Hyper-local is super important to us. Every time we’ve opened up a new store, we really harness the power of the cities and the communities that we’re opening up in.”
This can look like playing up local language and colloquialisms, as well as tapping local communities to bring store openings to life. It could mean inviting DJ collectives or dance troupes, as well as speaking to local charities about potential collaborations. “We make sure that we really do our research and understand the subcultures of these cities,” explained Ellahi.
Before the company opens a store, the marketing team hosts a roundtable with tastemakers and local people of influence to learn about the local culture and use the research to create experiences for the individual community. “It doesn’t have to be full-blown integrated partnerships or collaborations. It can just be showing up and finding ways to support them through simple things like hosting people in the store, a closed-door session or supplying product,” Ellahi explained.
The brand is thinking about building loyalty as they expand and take a very customer-first approach. Experiential balance with social is at the heart of building loyal customers.
“Our events are quite inclusive and it would not just be focused on making sure influencers are posting content from those events, but also making sure that our customers are having a piece of that exclusivity and that access to something that they normally wouldn’t get,” said Ellahi.
Claire Berry, founder and managing director at Perfect Cartel, who works with the retailer on these activations also stressed the importance of inclusivity.
“You do need to ensure that it speaks to absolutely everybody,” said Berry. “Often at beauty pop-ups there are queues around the block. It could take hours, you don’t know whether you’re getting in. Sephora always makes sure that there’s queue attainment, there’s moments happening, ways to keep people engaged to make people feel really included.”
She said that you need to encourage people to create, share and be involved to make it a success. “It can’t be a passive experience for people,” explained Berry. “They have to be in on the action and feel like they’re being able to really get in touch with the brand. It’s education.
If you’re learning about a brand from someone that’s passionate and teaching you how to use the product, you’re more likely to become a fan.”
In beauty, if a customer has a positive experience and for example, finds a foundation they love, they might become a customer for life. One way Sephora tries to ensure positive experiences for customers is through extensive education for staff – both at the brand’s corporate offices and at retail. For instance, the company recently did a big product launch with Hailey Bieber’s Rhode Skincare. As part of the prep, the brand did an HQ takeover, coming to the office to demo the product, a practice the retailer encourages its brand partners to do.
“Oftentimes, they might bring in some sort of experiential activation,” said Ellahi. “If there is a brand that’s launching a product with matcha in it, we’ll set up a matcha bar in our office. It’s a really simple way to get the staff who are behind making your brand a success to have that level of engagement.”
