Sephora Australia
Neon Fix
What the facade of Sephora Australia will look like. Photo: Facebook
Sephora has given beauty fans a sneak preview of what to expect from its first Australian store via social media.
The popular beauty chain has posted several images of the popular brands to be stocked in the flagship store, which will open in Sydney’s Pitt Street Mall in December, on its Facebook page.
Customers can expect lip gloss by NARS, eye shadow palettes from Urban Decay, YSL lipsticks, Dior skincare as well as Deborah Lippmann, Formula X and Nails Inc nail polishes.
The popular make-up chain, which also carries more than 600 products for men, will set up a self-service format inside the first Australian store, essentially creating a three-story, 800 square metre supermarket.
Sephora Australia will launch new brands every month for the first year, introduce a customer loyalty program and offer cosmetics and hair care products at US prices, which are significantly cheaper than what Australians pay for cosmetics.
The arrival of Sephora will be the first time in 50 years the likes of Myer and David Jones will encounter competition in the make-up market. However, Ravi Thakran, the Asia and Middle East president for parent company LVMH, said recently: "There is plenty of room for a new player."
Forget fashion retail wars, come December Sephora, David Jones and Myer will be doing battle via cosmetic counters. Here Jessica Gomes gets a last-minute touch up before the DJs fashion preview.
After womenswear, cosmetics is the biggest selling category at both department stores. They control about 60 per cent of Australia's premium cosmetics market, selling everything from Estee Lauder to L'Oreal.
However DavidJones’ new parent company, South African supermarket chain Woolworths, has confirmed it will be bringing new brands to the department store as well as revamping the David Jones line of products, which includes cosmetics. Woolworths CEO Ian Moir said the David Jones-label products will be revamped and targeted at a younger and more fashionable market.
The make-up chain has amassed more than 14,000 fans on Facebook since announcing an Australian opening earlier this year. Photo: Facebook
Woolworths in South Africa also sells its own label of affordable beauty wares with products including lipsticks and foundations starting at about $12. David Jones will confirm if WBeauty will migrate to Australian cosmetic counters in the coming months.