Analysis of the Sephora Company – Model of a Sustainable Transnational Corporation

Transnational corporations offer goods and services internationally and are principal players in globalisation. Attempts to define transnationals have been based on the number of countries they operate in or their net worth. Sustainability may be defined as development that satisfies present needs without compromising the needs of future generations. Sustainability may be economic, i.e. development without jeopardising resources for the future or financial, i.e. capacity to attract funds for adequate waste management. We attempted apply these definitions to the beauty industry, using Sephora company as an example. To this end carried out an online data search and bibliographic analysis. In 2022, Sephora posted sales of over US$14billion, with over US$7billion in North America, making it the leading worldwide beauty company. Sephora’s clientele is younger than other competitors, 37years old on average, 40% are very passionate about beauty and 60% utilise Tik-Tok for information. They are also the wealthiest and are the generation most concerned about the future of the natural environment. Sephora appears to be meeting these concerns by eliminating metals and sand from its makeup; using recyclable carton boxes, printed with vegetable ink and donating to such causes as “Woman Safe”. Sephora aims to use only vegetable-based makeup in its own Sephora Collection line by 2025, thereby eliminating silicon, parabens, sulphates and mineral oils. Sustainability is a concept that encompasses economic and environmental viability of a transnational company. The Sephora example suggests that this can be achieved without negatively impacting the financial outlook of the company. Sustainability, therefore, may be a source of mutual gain for both transnationals and the nations that they operate in.