Prestige beauty omni-retailer furthers commitment to championing a diverse and inclusive beauty community with a new Canadian five-year goal.
TORONTO, May 17, 2021 /CNW/ - Today, Sephora Canada announces its new localized commitment to dedicate 25 per cent of its brand offering to BIPOC-owned brands by 2026, an exciting new addition to the prestige beauty retailer's ongoing commitment to The Fifteen Percent Pledge, which began in the U.S. last year. This announcement is also part of Sephora Canada's ongoing efforts of creating an inviting beauty experience that reflects its longstanding company values of championing diversity, inclusivity, and inspiring fearlessness.
The ambitious five year goal of reaching 25 per cent BIPOC-owned brands by 2026 is driven by the insight that 22.3 per cent of Canadians identify as visible minorities (according to 2016 Census), making the demand for visible representation within brand offering more important than ever in Canada. As a result of continued brand diversification over the past year, Sephora Canada is currently sitting at 12 per cent BIPOC-owned prestige beauty brands, with a goal of reaching 15 per cent in 2022.
"We are proud to solidify our goal of reaching 25 per cent BIPOC-owned brands by 2026 as part of our new localized Fifteen Percent Pledge commitment," says Jane Nugent, Sephora Canada's Senior Vice President of Merchandising. "Ensuring greater representation within our prestige beauty brand offering that is reflective of Canada's rich diversity is central to our mission of creating a more inclusive retail experience and sense of belonging for all."
The Fifteen Percent Pledge is a non-profit organization based in the United States that advocates for the equitable and intentional distribution of wealth and opportunity for Black-owned businesses and people in the workforce, as well as urges retailers to commit at least 15 percent of their shelf-space to Black-owned businesses. In June 2020, Sephora was the first major retailer to take the pledge, which included evolving its 2021 Accelerate incubator programming to be dedicated exclusively to people of colour. Shortly after launching in the United States, The Fifteen Percent Pledge team's mission extended into Canada in support of Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC)-owned businesses and BIPOC people in the workforce.
"As we approach the one year anniversary of the racial justice protests last summer, we could not be more thrilled that Sephora Canada is taking the Pledge and partnering with us to drive equity across retail," said Aurora James, founder of the Fifteen Percent Pledge. "Being a proud Canadian, it's exciting to see the Pledge continue to expand beyond the U.S. and have Sephora Canada be our newest partnership in my home country. Their commitment to increase their shelf space to 25 per cent BlPOC-owned brands is huge, and we are looking forward to working in lockstep with them to provide support and help them achieve this goal."
Sephora Canada's ongoing action plan for increasing BIPOC representation in its brands includes supporting BIPOC-owned brands in achieving Canadian compliancy, which has already played a crucial role in enabling expansion into Canada, and aiding Sephora's newest Accelerate brands with the resources and information they need to expand beyond the US.
Beyond its commitment to the Fifteen Percent Pledge, over the past year, Sephora Canada established a Diversity and Inclusion Council, geared towards identifying actionable solutions and galvanizing change.
Sephora Canada's BIPOC-owned beauty guide is currently available at Sephora.ca/bipoc-beauty-brands. Further details about Sephora Canada's ongoing Diversity and Inclusion journey and efforts will also be available on Sephora.ca in the coming weeks.
About Sephora Americas
Since its debut in North America over 20 years ago, Sephora has been a leader in prestige omni-retail with the purpose of creating an inviting beauty shopping experience and inspiring fearlessness in our community. With the goal of delivering unbiased shopping support and a personalized experience, Sephora invites clients to explore 25,000 products from over 400 carefully curated brands, and safely engage with expertly trained beauty advisors in 80 stores across Canada. Clients can also visit Sephora online and through our mobile app, access the free-to-join Beauty Insider program and digital community, which together enhance the experience of Sephora's passionate clients. Sephora has been an industry-leading champion of diversity, inclusivity, and empowerment, guided by our longstanding company values. In 2019, Sephora announced a new tagline and manifesto, "We Belong to Something Beautiful," to reinforce its dedication to fostering belonging amongst all clients and employees and to publicly strive for a more inclusive vision for retail in North America. Sephora continues to give back to our communities and advance inclusion in our industry through our Sephora Stands social impact programs. For more information, visit https://www.sephora.ca/about-us and @SephoraCanada on social media.
About The Fifteen Percent Pledge
The Fifteen Percent Pledge is a 501c3 non-profit advocacy organization urging major retailers to commit 15 percent of their shelf-space to Black-owned businesses. It offers large corporations accountability, support and consulting services with the goal of advocating for and supporting Black-owned businesses. The Fifteen Percent Pledge seeks economic equality and prosperity for Black future founders, Black students, and Black people in the workforce. Launched in 2020 by Aurora James, the initiative was born from seeing multiple acts of social injustice and police brutality in the United States, with a lack of accountability for the systemic issues at play. Businesses including Sephora, Rent the Runway, West Elm, MedMen and now Vogue Magazine, have all committed to the Fifteen Percent Pledge. For more information, visit www.15percentpledge.org
SOURCE Sephora
For more information and interview requests, please contact: Laura Linden, The Colony Project, [email protected], 647-207-6608; Julie Forbes, Sephora Canada, [email protected], 647-262-7926; Fifteen Percent Pledge: Jessinia Brooks, [email protected]; Kindeya Chiaro, [email protected]
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