Sephora to Open 100 US Stores

During an era when many retailers are making closures, Sephora (Paris) is intending to increase its North American footprint – which currently sits at almost 500 stores – by 20 percent, reports Retail Dive.

The beauty retailer currently has stores in 34 countries and opened 110 stores in 2019, 35 of which opened in the U.S.

The company plans to move away from its standard mall-based format and focus on offering convenient locations for its customers.

"It's the place that they get pizza on Friday night, it's the place they do takeout Chinese, where they go to SoulCycle or where they go to work out, their drug store, their Whole Foods. That was really important to us," Jeff Gaul, Senior VP of Sephora store development, told Retail Dive.

This shift may cause them to directly compete with fellow beauty retailer Ulta (Bolingbrook, Ill.) more so than ever before due to the geographic overlap they will have as Sephora moves away from mall locations.