Why Is Sephora Closing Its U.S. Stores On June 5? The Company Has A Good Reason

Attention, all beauty lovers: If you were planning on running to your local Sephora anywhere in the U.S. on Wednesday, June 5, know that you’ll find it closed for the day. Why is Sephora closing its U.S. stores on June 5, you ask? A valid question. There’s a really good reason as to why this shutdown is necessary, so even if you do run out of brow gel that Wednesday, you’ll be happy the store was closed in the long run.

If the above has you very confused, let me explain. On Wednesday, June 5, all Sephora stores in the United States will be closed for a day of diversity training. Elite Daily reached out to Sephora for comment following the news of the store’s closing for the day, but did not hear back by the time of publication. However, a statement from Sephora CEO Deborah Yeh, via Glamour, details why the company thought a diversity training sesh was very necessary. "Through this, we’ll look to begin a dialogue with our 16K+ US employees about what inclusivity and values mean to Sephora," said Yeh, per Glamour, "And we’ll plan to sustain this dialogue with future training moments for our fleet."

ICYMI, singer SZA recently took to Twitter to share an experience she had at Sephora, during which she claims she was racially profiled:

"Lmao Sandy Sephora location 614 Calabasas called security to make sure I wasn’t stealing," SZA wrote to her 2.6 million Twitter followers, "We had a long talk. U have a blessed day Sandy." The next day, Sephora responded to SZA via Twitter about their emphasis on inclusion. "You are a part of the Sephora family, and we are committed to ensuring every member of our community feels welcome and included at our stores," the brand wrote.

Who can say for sure how heavily this very public interaction impacted the company’s decision to organize a country-wide diversity training day, but I have a feeling SZA’s decision to raise her voice really made a difference. Thank you, SZA, for speaking up about this ongoing issue, and thank you, Sephora, for being proactive when it comes to enforcing and promoting inclusivity. Makeup is for everyone, and for many, it’s a treat-yourself luxury, so to go into a beauty store (or any store, for that matter!) and feel uncomfortable, excluded, or racially profiled in anyway is 100% inappropriate and not OK.

The SZA event did create an opportunity for other Sephora shoppers to share their thoughts, and they were all in agreement about a need for a shift in how Sephora employees treat their shoppers:

This upcoming training day is an essential part of reshaping the way Sephora employees perceive and interact with customers, and in addition to this, the company has launched the We Belong to Something Beautiful initiative, featuring a manifesto that’s all about celebrating diversity.

The campaign praises self-expression, courage, and diversity in the beauty community:

Though it’s a shame SZA (and so many other people of color) experienced this sad reality, it’s so important SZA used her platform to shed light on the event and and ignite change. It’s equally pleasing to see Sephora take action to improve and create a more inclusive shopping experience.

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