Ever wonder what it’s like to work for the biggest prestige beauty retailer in the world? Want to work directly with some of the top brands in beauty and help drive their strategy? Are you passionate about beauty products that you’d love for it to be your full-time job? A job as a Sephora Merchant is the perfect career for you! Merchandising at Sephora is so much more than being a typical buyer. You’re a brand and category builder.
Working at Sephora has been one of the best experiences in my career so far. Five years ago, I never thought I’d be in my current position. I get to help build brands for some of the best in the world. When I first started my career at Sephora, I was a Merchandise Coordinator for Hair & Fragrance at SiJCP. I now work as an Assistant Category Merchant on the freestanding hair team. My team drives the overall strategy for hair at Sephora and collaborates with each brand to build out a robust product assortment.
Merchandising at Sephora
I act as the day-to-day liaison for brands carried at Sephora and help drive the strategy and growth for the overall category. Directly getting to impact brand launch plans, product formulas, and marketing plans for key initiatives is so rewarding.
I like to call myself a brand storyteller and incubator. Every week I’m in meetings with founders, CEOs and VPs of the top hair brands in the beauty industry. I share my thoughts on products, formulas, packaging and visual merchandising. My team and I work with an extensive portfolio of brands, from those who have wide retail distribution and those who are much smaller and exclusive to Sephora.
Not only have I been a part of so many product launches, but I’ve also helped launch many iconic brands at Sephora! Oribe, Fable & Mane, dae, Gisou, BREAD BEAUTY SUPPLY, Adwoa Beauty, COLOR WOW, JVN Hair, Pureology, Vegamour, Mizani, Virtue, Better Not Younger and a few more coming out later this year and in 2022!
Day-to-Day
Every day for me looks different. If you want a little glance at what my calendar looks like, take a peek! Working in merchandising can be challenging since it’s an extremely fast-paced and highly cross-functional position. I’m constantly in meetings and have to balance time for sales analysis, feedback and other projects.
One of those projects I manage is our Sephora Favorites Kits! If you’re a Sephora shopper, I’m sure you’ve seen these limited edition and exclusive kits before. I get to come up with the kit theme, assortment, price & margin, and design the artwork and bag/box! It’s such a fun and rewarding project. Below are the two 2020 kits that I made!
Not only are you balancing the business and brand relationships, you need to make sure to support all of your cross-functional partners. I work extremely closely with our partners in planning, dotcom/e-commerce, brand marketing, education, brand updates/visual merchandising, legal, social, PR, etc. Our team typically meets with each brand for 1 hour every month to stay on top of the business. These calls are super strategic to grow the business together.
Another special meeting we have 2x per year with brands is Market. If you work at a brand that sells at a retailer, you’ve probably heard of Market as well. It’s a time where we meet with all of our brands for 2 hours to go over brand objectives, new product launches, and marketing support for the upcoming 6-18 months. These meetings typically take place over one month since we have so many brands to meet with both in New York for one week and the rest at our offices in San Francisco.
Advice
Pretty awesome right?! If all of this sounds like something you’re interested in pursuing or have always dreamed of working at Sephora, go for it. Ever since I was young, getting to work at the corporate Sephora offices was always a dream of mine, and I was able to get there so early on in my career.
My position has taught me so much, from valuing the importance of a brand relationship, clear communication, being detail-oriented, learning to build strategy and most importantly, entrepreneurship and taking initiative. Merchandising at Sephora is so much more than being a typical buyer. Brands love getting to work with Sephora for that reason since it’s truly a partnership like no other. The amount of feedback, collaboration and support that Sephora provides brands is unmatched compared to other beauty retailers in the industry.
Here’s some advice if this is the dream career for you.
Be passionate, eager to learn and open-minded. So much of my day-to-day is off the cuff and unplanned. The beauty and retail industry is incredibly fast-paced, so you must be resilient and open to pivoting. Going with the flow in an industry that is constantly changing is essential for your work ethic and the strategy you’re implementing. Genuinely value the importance of a brand relationship. So much of a brand’s success with its retail partners is the cultivated relationship between the retailer and the brand. You want to win and be successful, and you want them to win as well; it’s a two-way street. If you don’t have experience in merchandising or brand management, don’t let that discourage you. Go for it, be persistent and be passionate; it’ll take you a long way!
