Beauty products giant Sephora has come to town!
Seems that their invasion into the US and the rest of the world wasn’t enough – now it has conquered our humble city of Vancouver.
As I have frequented Sephora many of times in the US now, I was fairly indifferent to its opening in Pacific Centre. Sephora is my go-to beauty store when I want to browse and test products without a make-up counter associate breathing down my neck. Don’t expect exceptional service or professional advice here. The personnel at Sephora, albeit gorgeously made-up; sunny disposition and all, do NOT necessarily know their products.
Recently, a friend’s birthday brought me to Sephora in Vancouver. Having already decided on my gift for her, I knew that the particular product would not be readily available elsewhere. Upon entering the neon-light infused store, I was bombarded by a cacophony of chatter. Navigating the store was like a slalom race through the aisles and crowds of people. I noticed several store personnel meandering around – some were assisting customers, others talking amongst themselves and some just standing around. I was not greeted once; my presence was not acknowledged once; I was not asked if I need any assistance once.
The store seemed poorly organized. Some brands had only 1 dedicated shelf and others were not organized together but placed haphazardly throughout the store. The queue to the checkout is not laid out well. People were confused as to where the line started (sales associate in the vicinity of the line did not offer any direction). The actual checkout counter is square-shaped – so if you were to go the cash register at the other side of the “square”, you would have to walk out of the line and across to the other side of the store.
The only saving grace of this particular visit was the sales associate who rang up my purchases. She was extremely friendly and personable. Despite all the “craziness” in the store, she was calm and collected. Very professional. She also took the time explain certain promotions and offers.
Interestingly enough, Sephora (Canada) carries some products that are not available at other Canadian retailers. As well, certain “value sets” from various brands are exclusive to Sephora. I guess that would be the driving force behind it’s popularity here in Canada.Â
Given the choice – meaning, if I were able to find the same products elsewhere, I would probably refrain from frequenting Sephora.
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