Sephora has acquired online beauty company Feelunique, which chief executive Martin Brok hailed as the “first step for Sephora’s presence” in the UK.
The retailer has taken a majority stake in Feelunique from previous owner private equity firm Palamon Capital Partners and other shareholders. The retailer said it expected the acquisition to be completed during the second half of 2022.
While Sephora would not confirm the amount it paid for Feelunique, a source with understanding of the deal said the widely reported £132m figure was not far from reality.
Feelunique has over 1.3 million active customers on its site and records 140,000 daily visits. The online player currently offers over 35,000 products from more than 800 brands, shipping 18,000 daily.
Feelunique chief executive Sarah Miles said: “Sephora is an iconic retailer in the prestige beauty space in Europe. We are looking forward to working together and leveraging our respective strengths to drive the prestige beauty segment in the UK”.
Brok added: “The transaction is a key step in Sephora’s European growth strategy and marks a first step for Sephora’s presence into the United Kingdom, one of the top-10 biggest prestige beauty markets worldwide, with a very high level of digital adoption.
“UK consumers have a strong appetite for a carefully curated prestige beauty offer that is tailored to their needs and provided through a consumer-centric, seamless experience”.
Sephora, owned by LVMH, currently operates 2,600 stores and is active in 35 countries.
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