Dive Brief:
- Sephora has named a new CEO in Guillaume Motte, parent company LVMH said in a LinkedIn post last week.
- The executive will start in January, according to Sephora, and he replaces Chris de Lapuente, who took over following the departure of Martin Brok in June.
- Motte is currently deputy CEO of the LVMH Fashion Group and previously was CEO and president of Sephora’s Europe and Middle East division, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Dive Insight:
Sephora’s next CEO is an insider, having spent nearly five years at Sephora and its parent company LVMH. Motte has already worked as CEO of one of Sephora’s regions, and now has experience as a deputy CEO at one of LVMH’s other operating divisions. That stands in stark contrast to Brok, who took over Sephora’s top spot in 2020 with experience at Nike, along with food and beverage companies Starbucks, Burger King and Coca-Cola.
"I am delighted to welcome Guillaume back to Sephora as President & CEO. His experiences over the past two years in LVMH Fashion Group, alongside Sidney Toledano, have broadened his prestige Brand building expertise and deepened his already extensive retail and business skills at a global level,” De Lapuente, Sephora’s current CEO and the chairman and CEO of the LVMH Selective Retailing Division, said in a statement. “I have no doubt he will continue to build Sephora into the extraordinary premium beauty retailer we envision.”
In addition to his experience at LVMH, Motte also worked as a consultant at McKinsey, and operated as CEO of the lifestyle retail division at Middle Eastern luxury retailer Al Tayer and later as CEO at French men’s apparel retailer Celio.
Motte joins Sephora as the beauty retailer moves aggressively into Kohl’s stores. The companies said in August that Sephora would open shop-in-shops in all of Kohl’s locations, which total more than 1,100. The shop-in-shops take Sephora out of the mall and into more strip centers, which also means closer competition with rival Ulta.
As Sephora expands its physical footprint, the beauty retailer is also testing out faster delivery. Earlier this month, the beauty retailer tapped DoorDash for on-demand deliveries. The company recently added a free shipping perk to its loyalty program, and launched a $49 annual same-day delivery subscription at the end of September.
