Beauty retailer Sephora is launching a new retail innovation concept, the Innovation Lab. It will encompass both a physical space in San Francisco and programs that foster the culture of retail innovation, inspiring Sephora’s next generation of digital leaders.
The Innovation Lab is a space in the Dogpatch neighbourhood of San Francisco where the team can “ideate, test, dream, experiment and learn”. Ideas for new offerings and technologies for shopping in store and on the go will be sourced, developed, evaluated, tested and eventually launched. The retailer has worked with Google and Apple in the past, and plans to evaluate additional strategic alliances in the future, through the Lab program.
The Think Tank program will inspire and train the next generation of leaders, who will be developing the ‘next big idea’ in retail. The Lab will also oversee Idea Central, a program that seeks to source and deliver on ideas from employees nationwide – regardless of rank or function within the company.
"We're completely focused on making shopping more efficient, intelligent and fun for our clients," said Julie Bornstein, Chief Marketing and Digital Officer for Sephora. "We spend a lot of time walking in the shoes of our clients as inspiration for dreaming up new technologies and partnering with technology companies in the Bay Area to develop innovative solutions for new ways to shop."
The retailer is currently rolling out four new digital experiences that it says demonstrate its digital leadership: it will be using Beacon technology in stores nationwide to deliver timely, personalised alerts to clients, notifying them to things like loyalty program updates; Pocket Contour, in partnership with Map My Beauty, will be released: ‘a cross-platform personal virtual make-up artist application’ that helps shoppers learn how to contour their face; and an augmented reality experience via the Sephora-To-Go mobile app for iPhone - launching in April, shoppers can engage with custom content by hovering over nine brand founder faces, including Josie Maran, Laura Mercier and Kat Von D.
"The Innovation Lab and dedicated management team gives us an incredible opportunity to drive the future of innovation," commented Bridget Dolan, Vice President of the Innovation Lab. "Given our location in the heart of the digital and tech scene, we have strong visibility into the players and trends, both on and offline, that could be moulded into Sephora-centric experiences. We have a relentless hunger for developing technologies and networking with emerging technology companies that might seem unexpected now, but could define the future of retail."
"Innovation has always been in our DNA," said Calvin McDonald, President and CEO for Sephora Americas. "We disrupted beauty by being the first to offer clients access to premium beauty out from behind the department store make-up counters, and we want to keep that spirit and bold tenacity alive. The new Lab will tap the collective creativity of our 14,000 employees nationwide, grow the next generation of leaders, and elevate Sephora's digital future."
