Sephora is preparing to open its 150th Canadian store on November 13, marking another milestone for the beauty retailer as it expands into neighbourhood shopping districts and smaller retail formats amid intensifying competition for prestige beauty customers.
The new store will open at Burloak in Oakville, Ontario, at 3527 Wyecroft Road, Unit K03C. Sephora confirmed the opening and national store milestone in a November media alert, following its recent opening at Stock Yards Village in Toronto and the introduction of its first Canadian small-format store in Vancouver’s Kitsilano neighbourhood.
The expansion comes as Canada’s beauty retail market undergoes significant changes. Shoppers Drug Mart is strengthening its luxury beauty assortment and services, Sephora has added ultra-premium skincare brand La Prairie, and the closure of Hudson’s Bay has removed a major distribution channel for cosmetics and fragrances.
American beauty retailer Ulta Beauty, which previously considered entering Canada, presents another potential competitive factor should it revisit those plans. For Sephora, the immediate priority is expanding its physical network while strengthening its position across different segments of the prestige beauty market.
Burloak Opening Marks 150-Store Milestone
Sephora’s Burloak location is scheduled to open Friday, November 13. The milestone follows several years of expansion. Sephora celebrated its 100th Canadian store in November 2022, reached 144 locations in March 2026 and opened its 147th store in Vancouver’s Kitsilano neighbourhood in June.
The retailer opened another location at Stock Yards Village in Toronto on October 23, identified in subsequent reporting as its 148th Canadian store. The Oakville opening adds to Sephora’s presence in the western Greater Toronto Area, where it already operates at major regional shopping centres and other retail destinations. Its expansion reflects a willingness to consider additional locations that offer customers convenient access beyond the country’s leading malls.
Sephora Expands into Canadian Neighbourhoods
Sephora’s recent openings demonstrate how its Canadian real estate strategy is extending into different types of retail properties.
At Stock Yards Village, Sephora opened at 1980 St. Clair Avenue West in an open-air shopping centre that includes Winners, Marshalls and HomeSense. The location serves Toronto’s west end in a retail environment with a different tenant mix from the premium regional malls traditionally associated with the brand.
Another store is planned for Toronto’s Liberty Village neighbourhood, an area that has experienced substantial residential development alongside its commercial and employment uses. The precise address, square footage and opening date have not been confirmed.
In Vancouver, Sephora introduced its first Canadian small-format store on June 5 at 2235 West 4th Avenue in Kitsilano. Occupying just over 2,000 square feet in the former adidas Terrex premises, the location brings Sephora to an established shopping street with fashion, outdoor, wellness and specialty retailers.
According to Sephora Canada’s announcement, the store offers a curated assortment including Rare Beauty, Rhode, Glow Recipe, Haus Labs and Merit Beauty. Its smaller footprint allows the retailer to occupy premises that would not accommodate a conventional full-sized Sephora.
Kitsilano is already a successful retail district, with Lululemon, Arc’teryx and Warby Parker among its retailers. Sephora’s arrival illustrates how a smaller store can fit into an established neighbourhood shopping street, even where beauty and wellness businesses are already represented.
Thomas Haupt Discussed Smaller Stores in 2022
Sephora’s interest in neighbourhood retail has been developing for several years. In a December 2022 interview with Retail Insider, Sephora Canada country general manager Thomas Haupt discussed expansion opportunities as the company celebrated its 100th Canadian location.
Haupt identified open-air shopping centres where customers could park near individual stores as promising locations. He also discussed smaller formats of approximately 2,500 to 3,000 square feet, compared with the company’s preferred conventional footprint of about 5,000 square feet at the time.
The Kitsilano store takes that concept further, with just over 2,000 square feet. Sephora has not indicated that all future neighbourhood locations will follow the same format, and the Stock Yards, Liberty Village and Burloak stores should not automatically be characterized as small-format locations.
Sephora entered Canada digitally in 2003 before opening its first physical store at CF Toronto Eaton Centre in 2004. Its subsequent expansion established a national network spanning major shopping centres, downtown districts and an increasing range of suburban and neighbourhood destinations.
Jeff Berkowitz and Aurora Retail Group Guide Expansion
Sephora’s Canadian real estate strategy has long involved Jeffrey Berkowitz, founder of Aurora Retail Group, whose firm has represented the retailer since its entry into Canada.
Berkowitz has been closely associated with Sephora’s site selection across the country, including its growth within major shopping centres and established retail districts. Earlier reporting identified the firm as Aurora Realty Consultants, while its more recent name is Aurora Retail Group.
The firm’s involvement continues with Sephora’s neighbourhood expansion. Retail Insider’s May 2026 reporting identified Perri Zimmerman of Aurora Retail Group as handling the Kitsilano lease transaction.
Smaller stores broaden the range of properties Sephora can consider, particularly along shopping streets where larger premises are limited. Neighbourhood shopping centres can also provide convenient access to customers who otherwise travel to regional malls for prestige beauty products.
Individual locations must still generate sufficient sales to support their operating costs. Sephora has not disclosed the demographic or financial thresholds it applies to its newer Canadian formats, or their profitability relative to conventional stores.
La Prairie Brings Ultra-Luxury Skincare to Sephora
Sephora’s Canadian growth is occurring alongside changes in the prestige beauty brands available through its network. One notable development is the arrival of Swiss luxury skincare brand La Prairie at Sephora Canada. Long associated with luxury department stores including Holt Renfrew, La Prairie is now listed on Sephora Canada’s website, with products spanning premium cleansers, creams, serums and skincare treatments.
The assortment includes La Prairie’s Skin Caviar products, with certain serums priced above $1,000. These price points place the brand at the upper end of Sephora’s skincare offering.
In an August 2026 interview with The Business of Fashion, La Prairie management confirmed plans to launch through Sephora Canada during the fall. The move formed part of the brand’s effort to expand specialty retail distribution while maintaining its luxury positioning.
The development brings a brand traditionally associated with luxury department-store counters into a specialty beauty chain with a much broader Canadian network. It does not establish that La Prairie is available in every Sephora store, and online listings should not be treated as confirmation of nationwide in-store distribution.
For Sephora, the addition strengthens its ability to serve customers shopping at the highest end of the prestige skincare market. It also illustrates how competition increasingly involves access to desirable brands, alongside store locations and customer services.
Shoppers Drug Mart Strengthens Luxury Beauty Offering
Sephora faces competition from Shoppers Drug Mart, which already operates an extensive neighbourhood retail network across Canada.
Through BeautyBOUTIQUE and its broader beauty business, the Loblaw-owned chain sells luxury brands including Chanel, Dior, Guerlain, Clé de Peau Beauté and Tom Ford. Its assortment also includes high-end fragrances, giving customers access to prestige products through selected pharmacy locations.
Shoppers has been expanding its premium beauty services. In May, L’Oréal Canada announced a partnership introducing multi-brand luxury fragrance refill fountains at 16 selected Shoppers Drug Mart locations, featuring fragrances from Lancôme, Giorgio Armani, Prada and Yves Saint Laurent.
The initiative, previously covered by Retail Insider, gives customers another reason to visit BeautyBOUTIQUE departments. L’Oréal said customers could save up to 25 per cent by refilling eligible fragrances instead of purchasing new bottles.
For Sephora, the competition extends beyond product assortment. Shoppers offers neighbourhood convenience and the PC Optimum loyalty program, while Sephora competes through Beauty Insider, its brand selection, services and product discovery experience.
The competitive relationship varies by location. Shoppers’ prestige beauty departments differ across its network, while Sephora’s smaller stores may carry more selective assortments than its larger destinations.
Hudson’s Bay Closures Change Beauty Distribution
The closure of Hudson’s Bay and Saks Fifth Avenue stores in 2025 further altered Canada’s prestige beauty distribution network.
The liquidation involved 80 Hudson’s Bay department stores, three full-line Saks Fifth Avenue locations and 13 Saks OFF 5TH stores. The department-store closures removed numerous cosmetics, skincare and fragrance departments that had served as important physical distribution channels for beauty brands.
Hudson’s Bay traditionally operated dedicated beauty counters staffed by brand representatives and sales associates. Its disappearance left customers seeking alternative retailers for products previously purchased through department stores.
Sephora, Shoppers Drug Mart, Holt Renfrew, brand-owned stores and online retailers are among the businesses positioned to compete for those purchases. However, there is no verified evidence establishing how much former Hudson’s Bay beauty spending has transferred to any individual retailer.
Sephora’s neighbourhood strategy also predates the department-store closures, having been discussed publicly in 2022. The liquidation is therefore a change in the competitive environment, rather than the origin of Sephora’s expansion into alternative retail locations.
Amachris and Sephora’s Store Investment
Sephora’s expansion has been supported by Amachris, the Ontario-based retail construction specialist with a longstanding relationship building and renovating stores for the company.
An April 2019 Retail Insider feature identified Amachris as Sephora’s exclusive Canadian construction partner at that time, responsible for new stores, expansions and renovations.
The relationship included Sephora’s Toronto Takeover initiative, which involved completing seven Greater Toronto Area stores within seven months. Amachris received a Contractor of the Year award in 2016 for its involvement in the program.
Its documented work also includes Sephora’s location at The Amazing Brentwood in Burnaby, which Retail Insider reported Amachris constructed in 2021. The company’s experience with retail construction and landlord coordination is relevant as Sephora develops stores in different types of properties.
Sephora is also investing in established locations, including a recent renovation at CF Toronto Eaton Centre. The store has been described by Sephora management as its largest Canadian location, providing a contrast with the smaller Kitsilano concept.
Amachris’s longstanding relationship with Sephora is documented, although its precise involvement in the latest Eaton Centre renovation has not been independently confirmed. Investment in both large destination stores and neighbourhood formats reflects the different roles physical locations can serve within Sephora’s network.
Ulta Beauty Remains a Potential Competitor
American beauty retailer Ulta Beauty could eventually introduce another major competitor if it revisits its Canadian expansion plans.
Ulta announced plans to enter Canada in 2019 before abandoning the initiative in September 2020. According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company had undertaken preliminary infrastructure work and incurred lease obligations for a small number of proposed Canadian stores.
Ulta has since pursued international growth through Mexico, the Middle East and its acquisition of Space NK in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Its 2026 regulatory filing outlines those operations but does not establish a renewed Canadian market-entry plan.
A future Canadian launch could introduce another major beauty retailer with products spanning mass-market and prestige price points. It could also increase competition for brands, retail locations and customers at a time when Sephora and Shoppers Drug Mart are expanding their beauty businesses.
For now, there is no confirmed Ulta Canadian entry. Its potential arrival remains an industry question rather than an announced development.
Sephora’s Next Phase of Canadian Growth
Sephora’s approaching 150-store milestone comes as Canada’s beauty market becomes increasingly competitive across price points and distribution channels.
Neighbourhood expansion allows Sephora to consider smaller storefronts and community-oriented shopping centres, while the addition of La Prairie strengthens its presence in ultra-premium skincare. Shoppers Drug Mart is expanding its luxury beauty services, and the loss of Hudson’s Bay has changed where customers can purchase prestige products.
For Canadian landlords, Sephora’s willingness to consider different formats could create opportunities beyond major regional malls. The success of those locations will depend on individual trade-area demand, sales productivity and the ability to offer a compelling assortment within smaller premises.
The November 13 opening at Burloak will mark another step in Sephora’s Canadian expansion. Its future growth will unfold in a market where convenient locations, brand access, customer loyalty and in-store services increasingly influence where Canadians shop for beauty products.
