On the heels of celebrating its one-year partnership that brought many of Sephora’s prestige beauty brand partners into several hundred Kohl’s stores in 2021, both retailers have announced that Sephora will expand its presence from 600 Kohl’s stores to more than 1,100 locations.

“Sephora at Kohl’s provides our customers with easier access to prestige beauty, and the partnership has brought in new, younger and more diverse customers to Kohl’s. We are incredibly proud of how our companies have come together so seamlessly to create a truly unprecedented and unique in-store experience,” said Michelle Gass, Kohl’s Chief Executive Officer. “We couldn’t be happier with how our partnership with Sephora continues to perform and achieve the goals we set out to accomplish. Our success to date proves that this partnership is working, and this expansion is the next, exciting chapter in our history together.”

The expansion shows that the alliance has been lucrative. Sephora at Kohl’s was introduced in fall 2021 with 200 stores with plans to open in 850 Kohl’s stores by 2023. An additional rollout of 400 locations was announced in February 2022. By 2023, Kohl’s will have opened 850 full sized, 2,500 square foot Sephora at Kohl’s locations across the country. The introduction of Sephora at Kohl’s has been at the center of Kohl’s store remodels, which has offered the opportunity to update, refresh and reflow stores to deliver against Kohl’s strategy to be the leading destination for the active and casual lifestyle.

According to Kohl’s, the first 200 Kohl’s stores with a Sephora have maintained a high-single digit percent sales lift, relative to the balance of the chain. And in the nearly 400 stores that opened this year, a mid-single digit percent sales lift has been realized, consistent with the initial performance in the first 200 stores.

Kohl’s added that all categories are performing well, with customers shopping across the store, and roughly half of shoppers attaching at least one other category in their purchase. The partnership also seems to be attracting new, younger, and more diverse customers, Kohl’s said, with those who are shopping Sephora at Kohl’s visiting more frequently than the average customer.

Since the partnership, Kohl’s said it has acquired more than 1 million new customers. Kohl’s expects the partnership to generate close to $2 billion by 2025.

Top selling brands include Sephora Collection, Sol de Janeiro, Nars, Fenty Beauty, Charlotte Tilbury, Olaplex, and Too Faced. The momentum has prompted other brands to sign on, including Versace, Murad, Clarins, Living Proof, Jack Black, and Voluspa.  

Going forward, there are plans to expand space in fragrance, given the success seen in the category, while men’s grooming will also receive dedicated space under the grooming essentials banner. In addition, synergies will be seen in relation to gift cards, BOPA, promotions, and returns. Later this year, Kohl’s and Sephora will significantly expand their holiday gifting assortment and increase marketing investment, positioning the 600 stores with Sephora at Kohl’s and Kohls.com for a big traffic driver during holiday.

“For such a big endeavor, our partnership with Kohl’s has been executed extremely well and has delivered incredible results thus far, and there is so much potential to this partnership with the addition of 400 stores that have opened this summer,” said Jean-André Rougeot, President and Chief Executive Officer, Sephora Americas. “At Sephora, our mission continues to be welcoming more people into the prestige beauty community, and we are achieving exactly that. In the past twelve months, we’ve been able to bring the premium experience Sephora is known and loved for to new communities across the country, giving them the access to beauty that we know they are yearning for. With a significant number of new Beauty Insiders, including the successful re-engagement of clients and holiday shopping ahead, the reality is that one-year results are very encouraging, but this is just the beginning.”