Sephora, the LVMH owned beauty specialty retailer, crossed approximately $22 billion in global revenue in 2025, continuing to grow ahead of the broader prestige beauty market. The growth is broad based across geographies, with North America remaining the largest single market and Europe and Asia delivering meaningful contributions. For premium beauty brands evaluating specialty channel strategy in North America, Sephora remains the most consequential single specialty customer.
The 2025 growth drivers. Three things consistently. The Sephora at Kohl's partnership, which has scaled to over 900 doors in the US, extending Sephora's reach into a different shopper demographic without diluting the core specialty channel. The owned digital channel, including the Sephora app and Sephora.com, which continues to grow share of total revenue and provides the highest margin and highest data signal channel for the company. The international expansion, particularly in Southeast Asia and select European markets, which provides incremental geographic growth.
| Global revenue, 2025 | ~$22 billion |
| North American revenue share | ~55 percent |
| Sephora at Kohl's locations | ~900+ doors |
| Beauty Insider loyalty members, global | over 35 million |
| Digital channel growth | high teens annually |
| New brand additions per year (global) | typically 60 to 100 |
| Brand discontinuations per year (global) | typically 30 to 60 |
The brand selection evolution. Sephora's brand selection in 2025 reflects a few clear shifts from the prior playbook. First, the cycle from brand introduction to broad shelf presence is shorter than it was five years ago, with strong digital validation accelerating the buyer decision. Second, the importance of editor and clinical credibility has risen materially in skincare and treatment categories. Third, the partnership investment that the buyer expects from a new brand has risen, with measurable shopper marketing commitment now a standard expectation rather than an exception.
The Sephora at Kohl's dynamic. The Sephora at Kohl's locations operate with a curated subset of the broader Sephora assortment, often weighted toward more accessible price points and brand recognitions. For premium brands, the Sephora at Kohl's question is a separate placement decision from the core Sephora doors. Some brands have intentionally chosen to be in the core Sephora doors but not in Sephora at Kohl's, to protect the prestige positioning. Other brands have embraced the broader reach.
The Beauty Insider data advantage. The Beauty Insider loyalty program now exceeds 35 million members globally, and the program's data infrastructure is one of Sephora's most valuable strategic assets. Brands selling at Sephora can access Beauty Insider data through the partnership channel, and the data is rich enough to support real targeting and measurement. For brands evaluating Sephora as a channel, the access to Beauty Insider data should be part of the strategic conversation, not just the immediate trade conversation.
What the 2025 buyer expects of a new brand. Five things. A defensible product story validated by clinical or scientific evidence appropriate to the category. A digital audience and content engine that demonstrates real shopper preference before the brand approaches the buyer. A retailer partnership commitment that includes shopper marketing investment, sampling programs, and editorial support. An operating capability that can support the channel's velocity and replenishment requirements without weekly intervention. A founder or brand narrative that can carry editor and PR conversations.
MOART perspective. Sephora in 2025 is more curated than it was five years ago and more competitive than ever. The brands that win at Sephora invest heavily in the work that comes before the buyer conversation: the digital audience, the clinical validation, the founder narrative. For international brands considering Sephora as a US specialty channel entry, the brand build work and the buyer pursuit work should run in parallel from year one, not in sequence.
