Sephora in takeover bid for British cosmetics e-tailer Feelunique

French beauty giant Sephora has reportedly agreed to buy British cosmetics e-tailer Feelunique for 132 million pounds.

The move would allow LVMH-owned Sephora, which has over 2,600 stores across 35 countries, to expand into the highly competitive beauty market in the UK, which is dominated by heavyweights like Boots, Next, The Hut Group (THG), Harrods, Asos, Boohoo and Amazon.

The deal could be struck as early as next week, The Sunday Times reports.

Founded in 2005, Feelunique sells over 35,000 products from more than 800 brands. According to its website, it has 1.3 million active customers and receives over 14,000 daily website visits.

It ships more than 18,000 products each day to 120 countries, with dedicated websites in the UK, France, Germany, Norway, China, EU and US.

In 2020, it said it achieved “record levels of sales and new customer acquisition”.

Beauty market heats up across UK, Europe

In June, Sephora struck a deal with German fashion giant Zalando to create “the ultimate online prestige beauty destination”.

The tie-up will give Zalando shoppers access to Sephora’s assortment of several thousand beauty products from more than 300 brands. The offering will start in Germany in Q4 2021 before being rolled out to other markets next year.

It comes as Zalando, too, continues its expansion into the growing beauty space.

The company’s co-CEO David Schneider said that beauty “represents a huge and exciting opportunity” for the business in a “largely untapped” European market.

“Our partnership with Sephora, the go-to place for many beauty fans, will elevate the beauty offering for our customers and allow them to shop the most sought-after and exclusive beauty brands while enjoying Zalando’s excellent customer experience and convenience,” Schneider said in a release.