Global beauty giant Sephora is continuing its expansion across Australia with the signing of a partnership with the country’s oldest department store, David Jones.
Under the partnership, Sephora will open its first concept store in David Jones’ flagship Bourke Street Mall in Melbourne in November with more stores due to follow.
The concept store promises to complement David Jones’ existing premium beauty assortment with an “outstanding list of new and exclusive brands” alongside an in-store experience that will “enhance modern consumer shopping habits with the use of interactive technologies and the ability to test and play”.
Announcing the new partnership David Jones CEO David Thomas said the deal will “deliver an exciting and experiential new beauty offering for customers”.
“Sephora is a highly regarded beauty innovator with an assortment of stand-out products that will complement and extend our existing offering to customers.
“We are focused on continually evolving our beauty offering to ensure we provide an unrivalled range of the very latest beauty innovations, brands and products from around the globe, along with expert service and specialised advice that David Jones is renowned for.”
Sephora Australia country manager Libby Amelia said the company is excited to continue its expansion in Australia.
“To be able to bring the Sephora Collection, alongside a carefully curated list of exclusive brands like Fenty Beauty, Fresh, Givenchy, IT Cosmetics and Marc Jacobs Beauty to a premium department store like David Jones is such an exciting opportunity,” she said.
“The partnership will allow us to increase our presence and reach in Australia to the discerning and loyal David Jones customer base, bringing them the unique Sephora experience they may not have experienced yet.”
Owned by LVMH, Sephora (which has 2500 stores worldwide) was founded in France in 1969 and opened its first Australian store in Sydney’s Pitt Street Mall in December 2014 – and launched its local online store less than a year later in November 2015.
The retailer, which describes itself as a “beauty trailblazer” due to “its unparalleled assortment of prestige products, unbiased service from experts, interactive shopping environment, disruptive spirit and constant innovation”, will open its 16th Australian store in Sydney’s Parramatta this week.
David Jones opened its doors in 1838 with the mission to sell ‘the best and most exclusive goods’ and currently has 46 stores as well as an online store.