Sephora in Israel: why the promised stores turned out not to be the arrival of an international chain

In early August, Israelis were informed of news that many cosmetics enthusiasts had been waiting for years: Sephora was allegedly finally entering the Israeli market. The publications included specific figures — six stores, five corners, the first locations in Azrieli shopping centers, and even the prospect of a full-fledged network within two years.

But after verifying the information directly with Sephora, the picture changed. There is no confirmation that the international network has transferred the franchise to Israeli GLAM42 or decided to officially enter the Israeli market. It is about the sale of Sephora Collection products — Sephora’s own brand — and subsequent information indicates a limited supply, not the launch of a full-fledged network.

For the buyer, the difference is fundamental. Sephora Collection in an Israeli store and an official Sephora store are not the same thing.

NANews — Israel News restored the chronology of messages and compared them with what Sephora itself reports about its international markets. As a result, it becomes clear not only what happened in August but also why the initial version of the sudden ‘arrival of Sephora’ should have raised questions even before the refutation appeared.

What happened on August 9

The first wave of publications looked quite convincing.

On August 9, Ynet reported that Sephora was ‘finally coming to Israel.’ The publication mentioned six stores and five additional retail corners, and GLAM42 was named as the franchisee through which the brand begins operations in the country.

The first sites were supposed to be Azrieli Tel Aviv, Ayalon Mall in Ramat Gan, and Malha Mall in Jerusalem. The publications mentioned August 19 as the date for some of the first openings.

But the story did not end there.

There was also talk of a pilot period, after which the range was allegedly supposed to expand. The initial version of events even included a much more serious promise: if the project proves successful, within about two years, Israel could receive a full-fledged Sephora network.

For the reader, this looked not like a regular import of cosmetics. It was practically an announcement of the entry of one of the world’s largest beauty retailers into a new market.

On the same day, there was another version

Almost simultaneously, Calcalist described the events much more cautiously.

The publication reported on the appearance of Sephora Collection in Israel but specifically separated this from the opening of the Sephora network itself. It was about the retailer’s own brand products that GLAM42 was going to sell in its stores and temporary pop-up spaces.

This distinction is easy to lose in the headline, but it is crucial to the essence of the story.

Sephora is an international multi-brand network. Its stores sell not only cosmetics under the Sephora Collection brand but also a large number of independent international brands.

Sephora Collection is just one private label within this system.

Therefore, the appearance of Sephora Collection in Israel does not yet mean the appearance of Sephora here as a retail network.

What was revealed after a direct request to Sephora

The next stage of the story turned out to be the most important.

When the initial information began to be verified directly with Sephora, the version of a full-fledged franchise was not confirmed. TheMarker and Haaretz reported that the company had not entered into an agreement with GLAM42 that would mean the opening of an official Sephora network in Israel.

According to information received by journalists, it was a one-time supply of Sephora Collection.

On August 11, i24NEWS reported additional details. A Sephora representative described the deal as a one-time sale of surplus products. Industry sources in the Israeli cosmetics market claimed that the company representative offered the goods to various local players at about a 40 percent discount.

This figure refers specifically to information from industry sources, not to publicly announced Sephora official terms of the deal. Therefore, it cannot be mixed with the confirmed corporate position.

But the overall picture after Sephora’s response became significantly clearer: there is indeed a sale of a batch of goods, but there is no confirmed entry of the international network into the Israeli market.

How to distinguish Sephora Collection from the real arrival of Sephora

In this story, several concepts emerged that were practically mixed in the first reports.

The sale of Sephora Collection products means that a local seller has the opportunity to sell Sephora’s own brand products.

A branded space or pop-up means that a separate decorated retail area can be created for these products. It can indeed externally resemble a familiar Sephora store.

A franchise already means a completely different level of relationship: a local operator receives the right to develop stores of the international network in accordance with agreements with the brand owner.

And finally, a full-fledged entry of Sephora into the Israeli market should manifest not in one batch of goods, but systematically.

For NANews, there are four clear signs of the real arrival of the network:

1. Sephora or LVMH officially announces entry into the Israeli market;
2. a confirmed operator or franchisee of a full-fledged network appears;
3. Israel appears among Sephora’s official markets;
4. permanent stores with the format and assortment of the international network are launched, not just temporary sales of Sephora Collection.

As of August 11, 2026, such a combination of signs is absent.

NANews checked Sephora’s official market list

The NANews editorial team separately checked the international section of Sephora’s own website.

At the time of verification, Israel is not among the markets listed by the company.

The page features dozens of countries in Europe, North and South America, Asia, and other regions. For the Middle East, there is also a separate Sephora direction, but Israel is not listed as an independent market for the company.

The absence of Israel on the page itself cannot yet be used as proof that the company never negotiates or cannot enter the market later. International companies constantly change the geography of their presence.

But in the current situation, this fact becomes important along with the others.

There is no separate statement from Sephora about entering Israel. There is no confirmation of a full-fledged GLAM42 franchise. There are reports of Sephora Collection supply. And Sephora’s official international list also does not show Israel as a network market.

All these facts point in one direction.

Why the initial version should have raised questions

There is another part of the story that makes what is happening particularly indicative.

Attempts to bring Sephora to Israel have been ongoing for more than a year.

As early as September 2021, Calcalist reported on preliminary negotiations between Fox Group’s Harel Wizel and Brill Group’s Shahar Turgeman with Sephora. At that time, it was indeed about the possibility of obtaining a franchise.

It was already emphasized in that publication that the negotiations were at an early stage and there was no certainty in concluding an agreement.

The deal ultimately did not lead to the appearance of Sephora in Israel.

In subsequent years, the interest of major Israeli retailers in the brand remained. In February 2026, Harel Wizel still publicly named Sephora among the international brands he would like to bring to Israel.

That is, even about six months before the current story, one of the largest players in Israeli retail continued to talk about Sephora as a goal that had not yet been achieved.

And against this background, the sudden message that the small GLAM42 immediately received several Sephora stores and the prospect of large-scale network development indeed required additional verification.

The size of the company itself does not exclude anything. A global brand can choose a small partner if it considers it suitable.

But the more unexpected the commercial deal, the more important it is to get confirmation from both sides.

In this case, this is exactly what the initial information wave lacked.

Why it is so difficult to bring Sephora to Israel

The problem has existed much longer than the current story.

Israeli participants in the cosmetics market pointed out several obstacles a few years ago: the relatively small size of the country, the strong positions of existing local networks, the peculiarities of cosmetics import regulation, and the need to economically justify a large assortment.

For Sephora, this is especially important.

A full-fledged network store is not just the supply of several dozen or hundreds of Sephora Collection items. The international format involves working with a large number of brands, regular supplies, assortment management, marketing, personnel, premises, and a complex system of relationships with owners of third-party cosmetic brands.

Some of the brands represented in Sephora abroad already have their own importers or commercial partners in Israel. This further complicates the attempt to simply transfer the American or European store model to the Israeli market.

Therefore, the long-term absence of Sephora in Israel cannot be explained by the lack of buyers. Israelis are well aware of the network and actively shop there during trips abroad.

The problem is more in the economy and the structure of the market itself.

What then can really open in Azrieli shopping centers

Here it is important not to go to the other extreme.

The fact that the full-fledged arrival of the Sephora network was not confirmed does not mean that nothing will open in August and that there will be no Sephora Collection in Israel.

The plan to sell products exists.

The publications mentioned special spaces in Azrieli Tel Aviv, Ayalon Mall in Ramat Gan, and Malha Mall in Jerusalem. In addition, Sephora Collection was planned to be sold through existing GLAM42 stores.

Therefore, an Israeli can indeed see the Sephora Collection sign and buy the corresponding cosmetics.

However, from this, one cannot automatically take the next step and declare such a point a full-fledged store of the international Sephora network.

For the buyer, the practical difference will be noticeable primarily by the assortment.

In a regular Sephora abroad, a visitor expects to see many international brands. In the Israeli project, initially, it was primarily about Sephora Collection’s own products.

This is a different format.

Where did such a big confusion come from

NANews considers this story not only as consumer news.

It shows a rather typical problem of the modern information environment: a small change in wording can completely change the meaning of a message.

The original construction looks relatively modest: Sephora Collection will be sold in Israel.

Then a branded retail point appears.

After that, the words ‘Sephora Collection’ are shortened to the more recognizable ‘Sephora.’

In the next retelling, the retail point becomes a ‘Sephora store.’

The local seller turns into a ‘franchisee.’

And then, to the real supply of goods, a story about the future is added — a full-fledged network in two years.

Each individual transition looks small. But at the end of the chain, a news story of a completely different scale appears.

That is why in such stories, the source of information is as important as the information itself.

If it is reported about the entry of a global corporation into a new market, confirmation from the corporation itself is not a formality but one of the central parts of the news.

What remains unknown

As of August 11, there are questions that still have no definitive answers.

The first is what exactly the volume of Sephora Collection will actually reach Israel and how long this product will be sold.

The second is whether the initial plans for all the declared pop-up spaces will remain after the public version of the relationship between GLAM42 and Sephora changed.

The third is whether the current supply can ever become the beginning of deeper cooperation.

The latter cannot be ruled out. Companies can start relationships with limited trade and later expand them.

But this is already a speculation about the future, not an established fact of today.

Sephora in Israel: what is known as of August 11, 2026

The outcome of the story can now be formulated quite accurately.

Sephora Collection is indeed entering Israeli retail.

There is no confirmation of the opening of a full-fledged international Sephora network in Israel.

There is also no confirmation that GLAM42 has become the franchisee of the entire Sephora network in Israel.

At the same time, temporary retail spaces and sales of Sephora Collection products may take place. Therefore, the statement ‘there will be no Sephora in Israel at all’ would also be inaccurate.

It is more correct to separate the product and the network.

The customer will be able to see products with the name Sephora in Israel. But as of today, this does not yet mean that Israel has become a new country of presence for the international Sephora network.

If the situation really changes, the signs will be quite obvious: an official announcement from Sephora or LVMH, a permanent network of stores, a confirmed operator, and the appearance of Israel among the company’s markets.

Until that moment, it is more accurate to call the August story the entry of Sephora Collection into Israeli retail, rather than the arrival of Sephora in Israel.