Sephora is planning 60 stand-alone stores

LVMH’s Sephora beauty chain said it will open more than 60 stand-alone U.S. stores this year in addition to the hundreds of shops already planned at Kohl’s Corp. locations, betting big on a resurgence of retail foot traffic as the pandemic wanes.

The expansion will take place in the Pacific Northwest, Los Angeles and the South, with plans to open stores in Austin, Dallas and Houston, as well as in Nashville, Tenn., Sephora said in a statement Thursday. The brand currently has 452 stores in the U.S.

The first 200 Sephora locations within Kohl’s stores will begin opening this year. The French beauty retailer in December announced a tie-up with the Kohl’s, which is based in Menomonee Falls, Wis., that includes opening at least 850 shop-in-shops by 2023. The partnership comes after a long-running deal Sephora had with J.C. Penney Co.

Sephora locations are largely concentrated in urban markets, and entering Kohl’s will give it access to a more suburban customer base.

Ulta, which has more than 1,200 stores in the U.S., announced in November that it’s opening over 100 mini-stores in Target Corp. locations this year.