Sephora to move to Kohl's

Predicting the demise of Sears & Kmart since 2017!
Bagels
Assistant Store Manager
Assistant Store Manager
Posts: 823
Joined: August 20th, 2018, 11:54 pm
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 12 times
Status: Offline

Re: Sephora to move to Kohl's

Post by Bagels »

I doubt JCP was surprised by the news. Earlier this year, reports were that Sephora wanted to immediately terminate its contract with JCP, but ultimately reached an agreement to stay until at least through 2022, to at least give JCP the opportunity to re-develop its cosmetic counter. Most likely, JCP knew Sephora's departure was a certainty.

Kohls' cosmetic counters have long been its biggest weakness. It tried to build its own program in the 1990s and 2000s but ultimately gave up. Reports indicate they gave Sephora a sweetheart deal, so we'll have to see how much the move does (or does not) help them.

It's a good move for Sephora, too. If I had to bet, sadly I'd bet against JCP's survival.
storewanderer
Posts: 14379
Joined: February 23rd, 2009, 3:54 pm
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 298 times
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Sephora to move to Kohl's

Post by storewanderer »

Bagels wrote: December 6th, 2020, 10:59 am I doubt JCP was surprised by the news. Earlier this year, reports were that Sephora wanted to immediately terminate its contract with JCP, but ultimately reached an agreement to stay until at least through 2022, to at least give JCP the opportunity to re-develop its cosmetic counter. Most likely, JCP knew Sephora's departure was a certainty.

Kohls' cosmetic counters have long been its biggest weakness. It tried to build its own program in the 1990s and 2000s but ultimately gave up. Reports indicate they gave Sephora a sweetheart deal, so we'll have to see how much the move does (or does not) help them.

It's a good move for Sephora, too. If I had to bet, sadly I'd bet against JCP's survival.
Kohl's wants to downsize its larger stores. So far they have not had much success finding people to sublease unwanted space to. Things like this are another option to fill space with non-Kohls programs/products/staff. Maybe they will try to partner with a sports-athletic themed retailer next. Similar to that Macy's/Finish Line partnership.
Alpha8472
Posts: 3929
Joined: February 24th, 2009, 8:55 pm
Been thanked: 79 times
Status: Offline

Re: Sephora to move to Kohl's

Post by Alpha8472 »

Macy's put Lenscrafters and Starbucks inside of many of their stores. This is a more efficient use of space. The Starbucks cafes really attract people inside of Macy's where people previously would never set foot inside.
rwsandiego
Store Manager
Store Manager
Posts: 1242
Joined: April 3rd, 2016, 10:57 pm
Has thanked: 23 times
Been thanked: 55 times
Status: Offline

Re: Sephora to move to Kohl's

Post by rwsandiego »

storewanderer wrote: December 6th, 2020, 11:02 am ...Maybe they will try to partner with a sports-athletic themed retailer next. Similar to that Macy's/Finish Line partnership.
That would be a great idea, given they are rather week in that category.
mbz321
Assistant Store Manager
Assistant Store Manager
Posts: 747
Joined: March 11th, 2010, 7:52 pm
Has thanked: 96 times
Been thanked: 54 times
Status: Offline

Re: Sephora to move to Kohl's

Post by mbz321 »

pseudo3d wrote: December 2nd, 2020, 9:43 am And what of the Sephora stores inside of JCPenney? A lot of them were purpose-built, what could they use the space for?
Rugs that a liquidator will bring in?
(I'm highly doubtful that JCPenney is going to make it another year).
storewanderer
Posts: 14379
Joined: February 23rd, 2009, 3:54 pm
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 298 times
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Sephora to move to Kohl's

Post by storewanderer »

rwsandiego wrote: December 6th, 2020, 9:24 pm
storewanderer wrote: December 6th, 2020, 11:02 am ...Maybe they will try to partner with a sports-athletic themed retailer next. Similar to that Macy's/Finish Line partnership.
That would be a great idea, given they are rather week in that category.
I am sorry but they are weak in every category. There is not much they can possibly do other than improve. Almost any other retailer who would be willing to go into their space, would bring an improvement.

Also their article about their new beauty program says they will somehow partner their new beauty program with their in-store hair salons. That sounds great- except I have never seen a Sephora counter that is even within eyesight of the JCP hair salon. The Sephora counter is usually in the middle of the store in a visible location near multiple high traffic entry/exit points. The hair salon is usually in a corner somewhere that you would not even see unless you went looking for it near a back door that is either not even open anymore or low traffic even when it was open.
Post Reply