Sephora Mexico tries to be an affordable and accessible brand for young people

Darío Aguilar has a clear goal: to make Sephora Mexico a democratic brand and reach more places, as part of an expansion plan that pays attention to what a young audience is looking for.

The CEO of Sephora Mexico has extensive retail experience with brands such as Nike, Adidas and C&A. Now with Sephora Mexico, he looks for the brand to continue its growth with the strategy focused on young people.

Skin and hair care two big trends after the pandemic

Although trend experts assured that physical retail would come to an end, Aguilar assures that after the confinements due to the covid-19 pandemic, more people have focused on “entertainment”.

“People have come out with more enthusiasm and are enjoying themselves intensely,” she said.

Part of that was seeing new trends that the global makeup company started targeting, for example: skin care, hair care, and the importance of eyebrows.

There is a 50% growth market in skin care

According to Kantar, the hair care market was the only one that showed growth during childbirth, and it grew 7% in 2022, compared to 2021.

Furthermore, the market research agency estimates that facial care also has a growth opportunity of more than 50% in the Mexican market.

To respect these trends, Sephora Mexico is paying attention to a consumer, the generations that pay attention to a skin and hair care routine.

Sephora Mexico seeks its expansion through the younger generations

Among the foundations for reaching these consumers is a focus on local brands, affordable brands, and partnering with influencers.

Aguilar claims that today there is a consumer who wonders about what the product contains, who seeks information about it and does not put any chemical substance on their face.

For this it stands out that one of the pillars of the brand is to pay attention to the development of the product, that it is cruelty free and that its packaging stands out for its quality.

«For the consumer, cruelty free is a basic, this is no longer an option. The consumer is now more informed”.

An informed consumer is a consumer who will buy

In turn, the brand also encourages its consumers to always have the information they need to build trust and be able to buy what they need.

Part of this is their Sephora University program, where they build a team that can educate consumers about what’s best for their needs.

“It has been shown that when a person explains to you what the product is like, if it has natural benefits not tested on animals, and you can try it, you walk away much more informed than you did, and it gives you confidence to buy it,” she said. .

The brand benefited from this, closing in double figures in the first month of this year and in 2022 it closed with a +40% growth.

Authenticity stands out in collaborations with influencers

Sephora Mexico is not only attentive to products and attention to its consumers, it has long been focused on the market of influencers who demonstrate authenticity.

“We have been talking to influencers for a long time, we have things very clear, we have a small group of influencers, we always look for them to be very authentic,” he said.

Aguilar said what they value most about partnering with influencers is the story they have to tell, and that everyone focuses on the categories the brand represents: makeup, skincare, hair, fragrance and lifestyle.

An example of this is the influencer and makeup artist: Luis Torres, @Ltorresbeauty on TikTok, who in Aguilar’s words “has a journey of many years, but has an authentic story to tell and has thousands of followers, but what matters is what is he”.

@ltorresbeauty Is it hard for you to outline? Consider these steps! They’re important! #makeup #eyeliner #delineado ♬ Sometimes – Britney Spears

Influencers “need to tell a story”

On the other hand, they have the reference of the influencer Rita y Punto, who has more than 88,000 followers on Instagram and is one of the people the brand trusts.

«He’s not a person who does something for money, he does it because he believes in the brand, in what he does and loves his job. We look for that authenticity,” she said.

“You will not deceive the consumer, the consumer must see that this influencer not only puts his face, takes the picture and that is why he sells millions, he must be authentic when he tells the story,” he added.

They not only work with influencers who stand out only in the beauty industry, but also with celebrities who choose to show off their line, like Martha Debayle did.

Aguilar said Martha Debayle is a retail success story. Her brand worked for three years and the production was carried out in Italy, and the radio host was also involved from production to packaging.

The global company pays particular attention to affordable prices and local brands

Finally, the expansion plan also includes affordable prices and local brands, important characteristics for the reference target.

They begin to cover the former with a range of price brands that can compete with a supermarket, without forgetting the quality that represents them.

For example, a year ago they integrated The Original, skin care products, with prices starting at 100 pesos. They also have their own brand: Sephora Collection, which competes with luxury brands, such as Dior or Esttée Lauder, through its affordable prices, without forgetting that they have the same quality of manufacturing made in France.

“To build loyalty, we want to be a very democratic brand and reach more places. We have brands with lower price points so that’s a hook for young consumers who we know don’t have the purchasing power today, but may have tomorrow,” she said.

Sephora Mexico as a platform for entrepreneurs in the beauty industry

This hook also includes the promotion of 100% Mexican brands, such as the Latino brand for curly hair care, which is present nationwide within the store, started by artisans in Cuernavaca and reached a community of over 750,000 people on Facebook.

“Sephora is an ideal platform for young consumers who are more aware of what’s local and two because ultimately we believe that when someone is an entrepreneur in Mexico, we have to give them a chance.”

The important thing for the brand is that entrepreneurs have an efficient business model, know their target and have a quality product, to enter the physical and e-commerce platform that Sephora represents.

“Ultimately, the beauty world is you want to look good, you feel good and so that’s really important and that’s what we’re working on here,” she concluded.

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