This week,J.C. Penney’s laid out their plans for the next five years. I’ve blogged in the past about their approach to private label, because they do a lot of things right in this space. One thing included in the five year plan is the fact that they will continue rolling out their Sephora store-within-a-store program.
The in-store Sephora departments are part of J.C. Penney's strategy to use the renowned cosmetics shop to enhance its image and attract new customers.
J.C. Penney’s also likes Sephora's strategy of allowing customers to try all its products and to bring them back for a refund if they decide later they don't like them. This customer-centric approach has won them fans since day one.
Beyond that, Sephora is a great retail brand and conjures up images of a fun, indulgent, shopping experience with brands not typically found in other mass beauty channels.
I think it’s a smart strategy - Sephora does bring in different customers and makes J.C. Penney’s more competitive with drugstores and mass merchants, all of which have greatly improved their beauty departments in recent years.
I really enjoy seeing news like this, because it’s a great new twist on retailer-exclusive beauty . It allows J.C. Penney’s to compete much more effectively with other mass beauty channels because Sephora provides them with an upscale name and retail environment.
At the end of the day, it reflects very nicely on the entire J.C. Penney’s shopping experience, which is exactly what a really good premium proprietary brands should do!!
Now that this shot has been fired, the next question is - what will Target, Wal-Mart, Walgreens and CVS do in response?
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