Retail > Brick and Mortar | Global Cosmetic Industry

Selective retail continues to outperform many traditional luxury categories, with Sephora serving as a critical gateway for premium beauty brands and increasingly acting as a stabilizing force within LVMH's portfolio.

LVMH Beauty Holds Firm as Sephora Outpaces Luxury Slowdown, Fueling Confidence for Second Half

Sephora continued to gain market share globally, reinforcing its position as one of LVMH's most reliable growth drivers.

The retailer's new 2,691-square-foot Carnaby Street store in London departs from Sephora's larger destination formats by prioritizing convenience, localized merchandising and technology-enabled services for shoppers visiting during lunch breaks, meeting friends or exploring the city's retail districts.

Sephora Shrinks the Store, Expands the Experience with New Boutique Format

Customers can shop "Only at Sephora" brands—including rhode, Haus Labs, Makeup by Mario, Merit Beauty, Tower 28 and Yepoda—alongside a dedicated "Hot on Social" merchandising table highlighting viral brands.

MOON: mascara in glass by Lumson and Ponzini

MOON: mascara in glass by Lumson and Ponzini

MOON is the first glass mascara created by Lumson in collaboration with Ponzini. This Made in Italy design elevates the formula, transforming the mascara into a luxury object. The bottle comes with three applicators for a tailored, premium performance

July/August 2026

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July/August 2026

K-beauty's impact is firmly rooted in international markets, as shown by Olive Young's U.S. expansion.

Why K-Beauty's 53% Growth Is Forcing Beauty Brands to Rethink Innovation

Bluemercury Names Kering Beauté Veteran Alex Choueiri CEO as Prestige Beauty Growth Accelerates

Garcia, who has served on Ulta Beauty's board of directors since 2022, will step down from the board upon assuming the CTO role. He brings more than 25 years of technology leadership experience, most recently serving as executive vice president and CTO at Domino's Pizza, where he led the company's global technology strategy spanning e-commerce, customer experience, cybersecurity and digital innovation.

Ulta Beauty Taps Domino's Tech Veteran Kelly Garcia as CTO to Accelerate AI Strategy

MOON: mascara in glass by Lumson and Ponzini

MOON: mascara in glass by Lumson and Ponzini

“What stands out in these findings is the clear convergence of digital and physical behaviors,” said Jacqueline Flam, managing director, beauty and health at NIQ. “Gen Alpha is highly fluent in AI and personalization, but they are using these tools to enhance discovery and build confidence, not to replace in-store experiences. For brands and retailers, this means creating connected journeys that link digital influence with real-world engagement.”

The Hybrid Generation: Why Gen Alpha Refuses to Choose Between AI and Stores

The future is interdependent by design, where AI, social discovery and physical retail form a single decision loop.

The retailer also demonstrated improving profitability, with gross margin expanding to 40.1% from 39.1% a year ago, reflecting stronger merchandise margins and lower inventory shrink.

9 Drivers of Ulta’s Q1 Growth (and a Times Square Flagship Teaser)

Growth was broad-based across channels and categories, with gains driven by both higher spending per visit and increased shopper traffic.

'Cyber liability insurance provides coverage for data breaches—hacking incidents, payment info exposure,' says Kenneth Hegel of Epic Insurance Brokers & Consultants. 'Especially important of you are storing any customer data or you sell DTC alongside retail.'

The Retail Insurance Rules Beauty Brands Can’t Ignore

"Rising insurance costs are changing how beauty brands operate in a pretty fundamental way."

MOON: mascara in glass by Lumson and Ponzini

MOON: mascara in glass by Lumson and Ponzini

MOON is the first glass mascara created by Lumson in collaboration with Ponzini. This Made in Italy design elevates the formula, transforming the mascara into a luxury object. The bottle comes with three applicators for a tailored, premium performance

The views generated on TikTok are translating into meaningful revenue lifts across DTC sites, Amazon, and brick-and-mortar retail through powerful halo effects.

The 15 Most-Viewed Beauty Brands on TikTok Shop

Why it matters: a correlation analysis using Charm’s TikTok Shop data revealed a clear alignment between TikTok engagement and performance across other retail channels.

Executives point to strong alignment between Rhode’s engagement-driven strategy and Sephora’s global platform.

Rhode Goes Pan-European: Sephora Expansion Marks Record-Breaking Next Chapter in Global Retail Push

Rhode is entering its next growth chapter with increased scale—and a clear mandate to globalize.

The 2026 Cosmoprof & Cosmopack Awards in Bologna once again spotlighted the most forward-thinking beauty innovations worldwide, with winners spanning ingredients, formulation, packaging, devices, and finished products.

Cosmoprof Awards 2026: Where Beauty Innovation Meets System-Level Sustainability

Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna 2026 brought together 3,104 exhibitors from 68 countries representing more than 10,000 brands.

La Roche Posay Announces Retail Expansion

La Roche-Posay Expansion Retail for Access to Advanced Dermatological Skincare with In-Store Launch at Walmart Nationwide

The partnership marks a pivotal scaling moment for Erly, which has built early traction through founder-led activations, boutique distribution and strong repeat purchase rates in its first year on the market.

Erly Skincare Lands at Ulta Beauty, Scaling Barrier-First Simplicity Nationwide

For Ulta Beauty, the addition underscores a broader merchandising direction: clinically credible brands that balance efficacy with ease of use.

As trend cycles accelerate, assortments sprawl and omnichannel complexity becomes the norm, AI is emerging as a core operating lever, not a shiny experiment.

2026: The Year AI Decides Beauty’s Winners and Losers

"Leaders must view AI as a core operating capability for managing trend volatility, not a digital innovation project."

Investigations suggest a covert marketing strategy utilizing very young micro-influencers to encourage compulsive purchasing among vulnerable groups, specifically those under the age of 10 to 12.

Italian Antitrust Authority Targets LVMH and Sephora Over 'Cosmeticorexia'

The probe scrutinizes marketing and sales practices within the Sephora Collection and Benefit Cosmetics lines.

Cloud Cafe Ulta Beauty Launch 2026

Clöud Café Launches as the First-Ever Coffee Brand Within Wellness by Ulta Beauty

The launch signifies a broader industry pivot in how retailers are approaching the the pressing intersection of wellness and beauty.