Sephora’s rise rests on a distinctive store experience, a curated mix of beauty brands and its own products, and expansion across stores, digital shopping and partnerships. The company’s origins are dated differently by Sephora and its parent, LVMH, and its recent growth is reported without a standalone revenue figure.
How did Sephora become so successful?
Sephora’s retail idea centers on letting customers browse and discover products in an open-sell environment rather than relying solely on counter-based shopping. Its own description emphasizes an evolving selection of emerging favorites, established brands and Sephora Collection across makeup, fragrance, skincare and haircare. That format gives shoppers a way to explore multiple brands in one place, while the assortment and services give them reasons to return through different channels.
Sephora describes its mission as creating “a welcoming beauty shopping experience for all and inspir[ing] fearlessness in our community.” The statement appears on the company’s About Us page; it is institutional language, not a quotation attributed to an individual executive.
Open-sell shopping makes discovery central
Sephora’s open-sell format supports hands-on browsing and product comparison. Its curated assortment combines outside labels with its own Sephora Collection, making the retailer both a destination for other brands and a brand owner in its own right. The company’s media kit describes an assortment of close to 500 brands; that is Sephora’s company-reported count, not an independently verified total.
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Its own label adds another part of the offer
Sephora Collection lets the retailer offer products under its own name alongside the brands it carries. LVMH identifies Cream Lip Stain, launched in 2011, as a Sephora Collection best seller. The example shows how the retailer’s role extends beyond selling other companies’ products, though it does not establish how much the own-label range contributes to sales or profits.
Where did Sephora start, and who owns it?
The founding date depends on which company account you consult. Sephora’s corporate profile says Dominique Mandonnaud founded it in France in 1970. LVMH’s Sephora profile dates its inception to 1969 in Limoges. Those are distinct attributions, so neither should be presented as an uncontested date.
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LVMH says Sephora has been part of the group since 1997, and Sephora’s own profile identifies LVMH as its owner. The acquisition brought the retailer into a larger luxury and retail group, but the available company reporting does not isolate Sephora’s revenue from LVMH’s overall results.
How did Sephora expand beyond its stores?
Sephora’s expansion combines a physical-store network with e-commerce and partnerships. Its About Us page names services such as same-day delivery and buy online, pick up in store, as well as digital partnerships. The page also describes the Kohl’s collaboration as another way to shop Sephora. Service and partnership availability can vary by location, so shoppers should check the local Sephora or partner site for current options.
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- 10-PIECE LIP COLLECTION: A curated set of glosses, oils, liners, treatments, and masks for complete lip care and color.
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Store-count figures differ across the company profiles. Sephora’s profile reports more than 2,700 stores in 35 countries, while LVMH’s profile says more than 3,000 stores. Because the pages may use different update dates or counting definitions, those figures should be kept attributed to their respective sources rather than averaged or treated as a single precise count.
What do recent growth reports show?
LVMH’s January 2025 shareholder letter said Sephora recorded double-digit revenue and profit growth in 2024 and continued expanding its network, including in the UK and the US through Kohl’s. LVMH’s January 2026 shareholder letter said Sephora opened around 100 stores in 2025. These are statements by the parent company, not independently assessed figures.
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LVMH reported €84.7 billion in group revenue for 2024 in its 2024 results. That total is for LVMH, not Sephora. The official sources cited here do not disclose a standalone Sephora revenue amount, so the growth description should not be converted into an invented sales figure or a precise estimate.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What explains Sephora’s staying power?
The evidence points to a combination, rather than a single defining cause: an open-sell environment built for discovery, a broad multi-brand assortment, an owned label, and routes to shop through stores, online services and partnerships. LVMH’s recent updates describe continued growth and store expansion, but they do not quantify how much any one part of that model contributed. That distinction matters when describing a business story: reported success is supported, while a precise causal ranking is not.
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