More Than Cosmetic

Sephora committed to devoting 15% of its shelf space to Black-owned brands. Now comes the hard part: actually doing it.

- By Yasmin Gagne

If you had walked by one of Sephora’s nearly 400 U.S. stores in May 2019, you would have seen in the window a large photo of a smiling Black woman accompanied by the slogan: “Color Up Close. Foundation for Everyone, Let’s Find Yours Together.” The displays featured other images of diverse models as well, enticing shoppers of all races into the store.

The campaign hit high streets and shopping malls at a crucial time for the mega-retailer. That month, singer SZA (aka Solána Imani Rowe) had accused employees at the company’s Calabasas, California, location of racially profiling her. Other customers followed up by sharing stories of discrimination on social media, leading Sephora to close all of its stores for an hour of mandatory racial bias training for its 16,000 employees. Then, to further demonstrate its commitment to inclusivity, the company tapped April Reign, the activist behind the #OscarsSoWhite social media campaign, to serve as an adviser and donated millions to racial justice organizations, including the NAACP.

But there was another problem: While the company championed diversity, just 3% of the brands carried in its U.S. stores were Black-owned.

This year, following the national reckoning over racial injustice sparked by the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and others, Sephora is determined to do better. When fashion designer and Brother Vellies founder and creative director Aurora James launched the 15 Percent Pledge in May to challenge retailers to commit to carrying more Black-owned brands, Sephora was the first big company to sign on. Now the company is working to live up to this commitment.