In 2008, Sephora debuted in Southeast Asia by opening its first retail store in Singapore.
The Lion City has once again been selected for Sephora's first "Store of the Future" in Asia because of its diverse and cosmopolitan population, strategic location as a travel destination in the region, as well as its robust beauty and omni-channel market.
Opening its doors last Friday, the 426m² store is located in the bustling Raffles City shopping mall. The retail space is specifically designed for an experiential shopping journey that incorporates technology and digital touchpoints with the assortment of products, brands and services.
"In today's fast changing retail landscape, Sephora has always been passionate about meeting our customer's dynamic shopping needs as they evolve," said Alia Gogi, president of Sephora Asia.
"This store is the perfect intersection of innovative and experiential elements where our customers can immerse and transform themselves in the absolute best of global beauty brands through a hyper-personalised retail approach."
Sephora's revolutionary retail concept was created in 1969 by French entrepreneur Dominique Mandonnaud, who placed beauty products at the centre of the store, instead of behind counters, so that customers could freely touch and try them.
A subsidiary of the prestigious LVMH group since 1997, the omni-channel cosmetics retailer continues to attract customers with an increasing variety of products and services.
New brands at the "Store of the Future" include Augustinus Bader, Juice Beauty, Patrick Ta, GrandeLash MD and Hush Candle.
New services include hair consultation and dry-hair styling; and Perk By Hydrafacial that uses resurfacing technology for a non-invasive facial treatment.
The new store also features the interactive Play Table, which allows customers to "Shop by Look" and make buying decisions based on popular make-up styles with video tutorials. They can also shop by their personal skin concerns at the Care Table while the Skincare Lounge presents a curated selection of beauty products.
The multi-channel touch points are driven by the idea of offering consumers a seamless, omni-buying experience.
"Our 100-strong tech and digital teams work closely with our retail and marketing teams to ensure we stay at the forefront of a digitally enabled and mesmeric consumer experience in-store or online. This is just the beginning of our journey in redefining and reimagining the future of beauty retail," said Gogi.
Digital highlights include dermatological-grade Skincredible app, for scanning and analysing skin conditions and obtaining skincare recommendations. Shoppers can scan a bar or QR code on any item to access over a million consumer reviews worldwide, and make the purchase via with a fully mobile checkout process.
Likewise, via a mobile app, beauty enthusiasts can book master classes and events at the Beauty School.
After Singapore, Sephora plans to open another "Store of the Future" in Shanghai next year.
