The GIST: Yesterday, the WNBA’s Toronto Tempo announced Sephora Canada as the team’s first founding partner and official beauty partner. It’s a major step forward for sports newcomer Sephora — which recently signed a multiyear U.S. partnership with Unrivaled — as it quickly covers ground in women’s basketball, where the next generation of beauty shoppers is sitting courtside.The details: In addition to a team jersey patch, Sephora Canada will be present through community-driven campaigns, social media and retail promotions, and in-arena programming. According to the release, the partnership will center around their mutual desire to champion individuality, diversity, and belonging.The beauty angle: As we covered earlier this week, beauty brands stand to benefit heavily from advertising in women’s sports. Not only do women athletes outperform other types of influencers, but fans of women’s sports are a demographic companies like E.l.f. Cosmetics and NYX are looking to win over.The Canadian angle: Sephora is one of many global brands taking advantage of the U.S. exposure offered by some Canadian sports teams. Sponsoring a cross-border league has been a smart play for companies in the PWHL, where Canadian brands like Bravado and U.S. brands like Intuit are able to reach customers in both countries. Best of both worlds.And Canada is proving to be a welcome home for beauty brands. The country’s online beauty and personal care market is one of the fastest-growing in the world — it beats the U.S. in terms of annual traffic growth and was expected to generate $2.17B in revenue in 2024. Plus, Canada is the third-largest Sephora market globally. What’s next: With its Unrivaled and Tempo partnerships, Sephora is showing women’s basketball can be a lucrative space for beauty brands and superstores. In 2024, Sephora barely surpassed Ulta as the leading beauty retailer for American teens, but locking down two sports partnerships should help give it an edge among Gen Z consumers big on the women’s game. Serving up facials.

Sephora Canada inks Toronto Tempo sponsorship as beauty retailer expands sports footprint

What’s next: With its Unrivaled and Tempo partnerships, Sephora is showing women’s basketball can be a lucrative space for beauty brands and superstores. In 2024, Sephora barely surpassed Ulta as the leading beauty retailer for American teens, but locking down two sports partnerships should help give it an edge among Gen Z consumers big on […]

What’s next: With its Unrivaled and Tempo partnerships, Sephora is showing women’s basketball can be a lucrative space for beauty brands and superstores. In 2024, Sephora barely surpassed Ulta as the leading beauty retailer for American teens, but locking down two sports partnerships should help give it an edge among Gen Z consumers big on the women’s game. Serving up facials.The details: In addition to a team jersey patch, Sephora Canada will be present through community-driven campaigns, social media and retail promotions, and in-arena programming. According to the release, the partnership will center around their mutual desire to champion individuality, diversity, and belonging.The GIST: Yesterday, the WNBA’s Toronto Tempo announced Sephora Canada as the team’s first founding partner and official beauty partner. It’s a major step forward for sports newcomer Sephora — which recently signed a multiyear U.S. partnership with Unrivaled — as it quickly covers ground in women’s basketball, where the next generation of beauty shoppers is sitting courtside.The Canadian angle: Sephora is one of many global brands taking advantage of the U.S. exposure offered by some Canadian sports teams. Sponsoring a cross-border league has been a smart play for companies in the PWHL, where Canadian brands like Bravado and U.S. brands like Intuit are able to reach customers in both countries. Best of both worlds.

And Canada is proving to be a welcome home for beauty brands. The country’s online beauty and personal care market is one of the fastest-growing in the world — it beats the U.S. in terms of annual traffic growth and was expected to generate $2.17B in revenue in 2024. Plus, Canada is the third-largest Sephora market globally.

The beauty angle: As we covered earlier this week, beauty brands stand to benefit heavily from advertising in women’s sports. Not only do women athletes outperform other types of influencers, but fans of women’s sports are a demographic companies like E.l.f. Cosmetics and NYX are looking to win over.