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Kohl’s yesterday announced a ten year, 850 store-in-store collaboration with Sephora. It sounds like a contour copy of Target and Ulta’s deal, until you check the floorplans:
- The 2,500 sq. ft. Sephora stores will replace Kohl’s beauty department in locations where they open. Target hasn’t said Ulta will crowd out its current beauty aisles.
- Sephora will also have signage outside of the Kohl’s store and, in some cases, separate entrances.
Shared goal: Reaching new, consistent customers—though there’s a larger gap between current Sephora and Kohl's shoppers. Sephora has 500 U.S. stores to Kohl’s 1,150, and few are in suburban areas. Kohl’s stores also populate off-mall centers where foot traffic has remained relatively strong.
- BTW, Sephora plans to (officially) end its store-in-store partnership with JCPenney.
Shared challenge: Convincing prestige beauty brands they won’t lose their clout. Top tier brands carried at Ulta have been tight-lipped about going masstige via Target, WWD reports.
But Sephora Americas CEO Jean-André Rougeot said brands’ images are safe at Kohl’s: “We’ve seen brands like Nike, Adidas and Levi’s presented in the right way in Kohl’s stores,” he told the WSJ.