Sephora Company
Sephora company has been flourishing over the years by capturing the hearts of millions of clients and shoppers with their personal care and beauty products. The mission of the company has provided the perfect vision for the company’s prospect now and into the future. Sephora firmly believes that its mission is to offer bold beauty choices to its esteemed customers. Sephora’s competitive advantage strategy is that it distinguishes itself from competitors, such as Ulta Beauty, by using a combination of product development and market development strategies. For instance, the company differentiates itself by offering an assortment of luxury brands, offers free samples of its products, and perfect return policy. Also, the response and assistance of the company staff is highly commendable, ensuring customer satisfaction.
The company employs a cross-cultural learning global strategy. The company is located in 34 countries, and to be successful in the beauty industry; it needs to familiarize itself with the cultures in those respective countries. Nonetheless, managing projects can be a hard task; however, project management techniques make the task easier and manageable. Sephora uses the Gannt Chart to create a visual timeline for projects across their lifecycle. It makes it easier to see the time taken to complete each task on the project’s lifecycle. Sephora time horizon in forecasting can be classified into three categories; long, medium, and short-range forecasts. The company uses long-range forecasting (3 or more years) to research and develop products, design and install new global stores, and capital expenditure. Medium range forecast (3months-1 year) is for production planning, sales planning, and budgeting. Short-range forecast (<3months) is for job assignments, job schedules, and product levels.
Since the company relies on customer reviews of its products, it uses a qualitative forecasting method based on opinion and judgment. Sephora product design involves four phases that begin with research, then onto a conceptual design. The conceptual design gives way to a detailed design prototype. Then the product can be manufactured for consumer use. Sephora is participating in joint ventures across the globe as part of its product development continuum. The company is gaining by sharing risk with its joint partners, and also both companies learn from each other. The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted Sephora’s internal company structure in many ways. Covid-19 has changed consumer behavior, also impacting the company’s strategy, product design, and forecasting. The fear of people contracting the virus has forced people to keep off Sephora’s stores, and the company has combated this by shifting its strategy to online marketing and sale of its products. Due to the uncertainty that the pandemic has caused, many of the companies’ forecasted goals and product designs would either be delayed or canceled altogether.