Marks and Spencer has struck a deal with LVMH-owned Sephora to open beauty concessions in 100 of its stores as the UK retailer moves to take on rivals John Lewis and Boots in beauty. The FTSE 100 retailer, which is pressing ahead with a turnaround after a costly cyber attack, said on Tuesday that a selection of Sephora products would be available in stores and online from spring next year. The tie-up with Sephora could help M&S attract younger consumers to its stores, adding to the success it has had in revitalising its clothing ranges. John Lyttle, managing director of fashion, home and beauty at M&S, said the Sephora tie-up was “the next step” in its transformation and that “beauty is an important category for M&S”.

Sephora, a beauty giant operating more than 3,000 stores globally, returned to the UK to great fanfare in 2022 almost two decades after it retreated in the face of tough competition. Since then, it has opened 17 shops across the country. Catherine Spindler, president of Europe and the Middle East at Sephora, said the tie-up with M&S is “a retail model that complements our existing formats and allows us to build on the strength of the Sephora brand in the UK”. The companies said they would confirm which brands will be in M&S stores and online closer to the launch. M&S is following other high street chains by investing in its beauty business as it seeks to further tap into one of the more durable corners of consumer spending. John Lewis began revamping its beauty halls last year, while an improvement in performance at the chemist chain Boots has been driven by investments in beauty halls in recent years. The UK beauty market is worth £5.2bn, with sales increasing 1.2 per cent year on year in the 52 weeks to July 19 2026, according to World Panel by Numerator. The research group calculates M&S’s share of the beauty market at 1.3 per cent. M&S said in May that it expected to return to earnings growth this year after last year’s cyber attack led to it reporting a 24 per cent drop in pre-tax profits to £671.4mn.