UK. Specialist beauty retailer Sephora, part of LVMH Moët Hennessy-Louis Vuitton’s Selective Retailing division, is to close its UK operations.
At present Sephora operates six UK doors, the first of which opened in Bluewater, Kent, in April 2000. Three shops, including the company’s flagship Islington outlet, have already ceased trading.
The Moodie Report reliably understands that the Brent Cross outlet will close next week, with the Solihull store set to shut on Thursday. The withdrawal from the UK will be completed by the end of May at the latest.
A spokeswoman for the group declined to comment on the closures, or the reasons behind them.
In 2004 Selective Retailing posted an organic sales increase of +17%, with a reported rise of +11% year-on-year. Sephora was said to have recorded another growth year in France and across Europe, resulting in market share gains.
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