Sephora Will Speed Up "100 Store" Plan

After reportedly receiving approval from its parent company, cosmetics chain Sephora will now speed up its expansion plan in China.

Sephora is a member of Paris-based Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy Group. Its 25 stores scheduled for the next five years will now instead be opened this year. Kang Yajun, general manager of Sephora China, says that China has become the fastest growing market for Sephora, and that's why they will accelerate the rate of expansion.

It is estimated that by August this year, Sephora's competitor Sasa will open 10-25 stores in mainland China and by 2011 it will open more than 100. With this background, Sephora has to speed up its plan of opening 100 stores. Previously, Sephora announced that it would invest RMB400 million to open 100 stores in China by 2010.

Sephora currently has 14 stores and one online shop in China, but most of them are located in Beijing and the Yangtze River Delta region. Kang disclosed that the company will focus on expanding into the northeast and southern China markets in the coming years. In the meantime, it will continue to seek a proper partner to produce the Sephora brand cosmetics.