J.C. Penney expanding Sephora presence with 25 new stores

Dive Brief:

J.C. Penney is expanding the number of stores that feature Sephora stores-within-stores by 25 nationwide, the retailer said Wednesday.
Six stores with existing Sephora concessions will see them expand, the company also announced.
J.C. Penney began its partnership with Sephora in 2006. Since then, Sephora has expanded and thrived, while J.C. Penney has stumbled and recovered.

Dive Insight:

This partnership with Sephora is one of the best moves J.C. Penney has made in recent years. The concept leverages the concession retailing or “store-within-a-store” approach, which the companies call "Sephora inside JCPenney," that in the best cases can work well for both retailers.

In this case, both retailers say that it does: Sephora benefits from exposure to markets that it wouldn’t otherwise, Sephora EVP for "Sephora inside JCPenney," Canada and Latin America Satish Malhotra said in a statement.

And J.C. Penney gets a boost from Sephora’s reputation and traffic. "Sephora is not only an important part of our center core strategy, but also a differentiator that helps set us apart from the competition," said Ivy Spargo, J.C. Penney SVP and general merchandise manager for "Sephora inside JCPenney."

Sephora helped revolutionize beauty retailing, removing the aloofness of the department-store beauty counter and bringing more freedom to try and buy. Perhaps that’s why J.C. Penney's Sephora concessions are smack in the middle of the store.