Sephora UK Managing Director, Sarah Boyd, is on a mission to make the US retailer the “culture forward, household name for beauty” in the UK – and has accelerated her expansion plans accordingly in order to succeed.
The beauty executive is aiming to have 20 Sephora UK stores open by the end of 2026 – bringing this goal forward one year earlier than originally planned due to the incredible response in the region so far – with ten sites already open in big cities.
But this rapid increase does not stop there, with a “strong pipeline” for even further UK bricks-and-mortar growth in 2027 and 2028, which includes “more movement in London” and potentially a zone one-based flagship, but only if the right location can be found.
Even more exclusive brands are coming too, including Hailey Bieber’s Rhode, which is launching into Sephora UK stores in the not-too-distant future.
The UK is, and frankly has been for a while now, one of the most dynamic retail markets in the world
This exclusive UK launch follows Rhode’s successful debut with Sephora US and Canada, which delivered US$10m in sales at the retailer in the first two days of launch.
Talking exclusively to Cosmetics Business about ramping up her retail plans for Sephora UK, Boyd says: “The expansion is absolutely continuing.
“The total number [of stores] keeps changing almost every year that goes past as the expectation gets higher, but we are focused on having 20 by the end of 2026, and that will be the case.
Sephora's Sheffield opening
“We have got ten stores now in just over two-and-a-half years, and we are taking the best of Sephora [from] around the world, learning from that, and then doing it in a very British way.
“Our biggest focus is to be accessible to as much of the UK as possible – this idea of reaching about 80% of the population within a one-and-a-half-hour commute – because the UK is not a London-centric place.”
And despite having a “fantastic e-commerce engine”, Boyd says “the magic” of Sephora is that physical experience.
The total number [of stores] keeps changing almost every year that goes past as the expectation gets higher, but we are focused on having 20 by the end of 2026
She adds: “Now that we have the confidence that the stores are as popular as they are, it gives us more freedom to visit more locations and landlords across the country.”
And this action plan is working, with the retailer’s MySephora [loyalty programme] community having soared 49% since the retailer’s launch in the UK, while the retailer’s own-brand range, Sephora Collection, “has really grown” in popularity.
“When we open a new store, it is always our number one brand for the first period of time,” says Boyd, “and then it always ranks in all of our ongoing stores within the top three.”
Sephora's own-brand range, Sephora Collection, is proving popular with the UK market
Sephora’s rapid UK expansion so far
Sephora made its big return to the UK in 2023 after an 18-year hiatus, opening its first location in
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