Expand: date=April 2008 Sephora is a chain of beauty product stores founded in France in 1969 and acquired by Paris-based conglomerate LVMH in 1997.

Name & logo

Sephora is a combination of "sephos", which is Greek for "beauty" and the Greek form of Tzipporah צִפּוֹרָה, which means "bird" (female) in Hebrew, and was the name of the wife of Moses in the book of Exodus.

The name has also been used by Joseph Conrad in the novella "The Secret Sharer," as the name of Leggatt's ship.

The Sephora logo is a white vertically elongated "S" against a black background.

Overview

The Sephora chain includes more than 750 stores in 21 countries. It carries over 250 brands of extremely popular items that include makeup, skin care, fragrance, bath, and hair products, and beauty accessories, including Sephora's own moderately-priced private label. The chain targets a fairly upscale market of affluent customers in all age groups.Fact: date=February 2007

The leading retail beauty chain in Europe, Sephora opened its first US store in New York in 1997Sephora.com: About Sephora. Its North American headquarters are located in San Francisco with marketing offices in New York City. Sephora is a division of Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, a large luxury products group. With triple digit growth for the last five years, Sephora is one of the fastest growing retailers in the USFact: date=February 2007. Sephora is known for their sampling program and for their lenient 60-day return policy. In 2004, it also started to operate in Canada.

The store also carries hair products and hair tools, and bath products.

There are three ways to shop Sephora: by phone, online, or in store.

In 1999, Sephora launched its online shop Sephora.com, now available in 9 countries.

Some brands sold at Sephora include:

• Azzaro
• Burberry
• Clinique
• Chanel
• Dior
• Escada
• Fendi
• Ferragamo
• Fresh
• Givenchy
• Giorgio Armani
• Guess
• Hanae Mori
• Guerlain
• Hard Candy
• Kenneth Cole
• Hugo Boss
• Issey Miyake
• Lancome
• Nars
• Michael Kors
• Oscar Blandi
• Ralph Lauren
• Philosophy
• Marc Jacobs
• Sephora Brand
• Smashbox
• Tocca
• Urban Decay
• Versace

Sephora Online

Virtual shopping is made easy at 1, where everything the store offers is pictured, above a product description. A navigation bar is located at the top center of the website for easy, organized shopping. Also offered is a search bar, in online shoppers can type in a product name or name of a brand. A drop-down menu bar contains a complete list of brands.