Sephora will not come to Israel: "This is a one-time resale deal for products that have been discontinued"

The local enthusiasm for the arrival of the global beauty chain Sephora in Israel was apparently exaggerated. In practice, in an internal email correspondence sent by a senior manager at Sephora's parent company, LVMH, which reached Globes, he notes that "the only thing we did is a one-time resale deal for products that have been discontinued, as part of the Sephora Collection (the global chain's private brand)".

The global chain does not currently plan to come to Israel, and it has no plans to open stores in the local market in the short term. The chain plans to issue an official statement on the matter, following the much-discussed announcement about the arrival of the Sephora Collection in Israel.

Limited collection

So what actually happened here? Many Israelis were surprised on Sunday to discover that at the end of the month, among other places, several temporary pop-up complexes of the global Sephora chain's private brand will open in Azrieli malls. The brand is officially imported to Israel by the GLAM42 chain, which specializes in perfumery and was founded in 2019 by businessman Maor Kadosh.

This is a limited selection from the house brand collection, without any luxury brands. These products will be sold at designated points of sale for a limited time — starting August 16 at six GLAM42 branches, on August 19 pop-up branches will open at the Azrieli Tel Aviv Mall and the Azrieli Ayalon Mall, and on August 21 another branch will open at the Azrieli Jerusalem Mall.

At the company's headquarters abroad, they were quick to cool down the move. The senior manager at Sephora's parent company warned in the mentioned email that "there is someone who claims to have the rights to represent, open, and expand Sephora in Israel because he bought some of the products".

In the Azrieli chain, they explained that the move fits into the strategy of expanding the mix of international brands in the malls. "The arrival of the Sephora Collection in Israel and the opening of the dedicated branches is news for beauty lovers. The connection with GLAM42 allows us to make the brand accessible in Israel for the first time and bring the shopping experience from abroad to Israel," the group stated.

Market status

In any case, market sources who spoke with Globes claimed that these days the complexity surrounding Israel's international status prevents many brands from trying to penetrate the local market. "It is unclear why create an entire campaign about the entry of a negligible private brand," says a market source. "People got confused and thought it was the real Sephora, and already started to get excited," he adds.

According to him, some of the big players in the economy, including owners of public companies, have worked and are working hard to try to bring the chain to Israel — so far without success. "A move of a brand like Sephora entering Israel is not a trivial event, and it will not end with a pop-up," says the source. "Of course, in the next two years it is not in their plans at all, even though they recognize the huge potential of the Israeli market. However, when it happens — it will be in a mix of giant 2,000 sqm stores, in selected and high-quality locations".

Belongs to Louis Vuitton

Sephora, one of the largest and best-known beauty chains in the world, was founded in France in 1969, and in the 90s expanded under businessman Dominique Mandonnaud, who developed the sales model that allowed customers to freely try products in stores — an approach that was considered unusual in the cosmetics industry. In 1997, Sephora was acquired by the French luxury group LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy), and has since expanded to dozens of countries. The chain markets hundreds of makeup, skincare, and perfume brands, alongside its private brand.