Sephora completes acquisition of British cosmetics e-tailer Feelunique

LVMH-owned French beauty giant Sephora has completed its acquisition of British cosmetics e-tailer Feelunique from private equity firm Palamon Capital Partners.

“We are delighted to welcome Feelunique teams within the Sephora family,” said Sephora president and CEO Martin Brok in a statement.

He continued: “Feelunique is known for their unparalleled customer experience, deep e-commerce expertise and knowledge of the UK consumer. We look forward to learning from each other and write a new chapter together.”

The deal reportedly values the UK company at 132 million pounds, though LVMH wouldn’t confirm the price of the acquisition.

Sephora eyes UK beauty market

The move allows Sephora, which has over 2,600 stores across 35 countries, to expand into the highly competitive beauty market in the UK, which is dominated by heavyweights like Boots, Next, The Hut Group (THG), Harrods, Asos, Boohoo and Amazon.

The news comes just days after UK sportswear giant JD Sports announced it would also be stepping into the beauty scene following its acquisition of haircare brand Hairburst for an undisclosed sum.

Founded in 2005, Feelunique sells over 35,000 products from more than 800 brands, shipping over 18,000 products each day to 120 countries, with dedicated websites in the UK, France, Germany, Norway, China, EU and US.

In 2020, it said it achieved “record levels of sales and new customer acquisition”.

The company’s CEO Sarah Miles said: “Sephora is an iconic retailer in the Prestige Beauty space in Europe. We are looking forward to working together and leverage our respective strengths to drive the Prestige Beauty segment in the UK.”