Popular beauty chain Sephora is shutting down all U.S. stores for a day of “diversity training” following an alleged “racial incident” that occurred at a California store.
The company plans to close all U.S. stores as well as distribution centers and corporate offices on Wednesday.
“On the morning of 6/5, every Sephora store, distribution center, and corporate office in the US will close to host inclusion workshops for our employees,” the company stated in a Facebook post. “These values have always been at the heart of Sephora, and we’re excited to welcome everyone when we reopen.”
The announcement comes on the heels of an alleged “racial incident” involving the Grammy-nominated R&B singer SZA. She claims she was the victim of racial profiling.
“Lmao Sandy Sephora location 614 Calabasas called security to make sure I wasn’t stealing,” SZA tweeted. “We had a long talk. U have a blessed day Sandy.”
Lmao Sandy Sephora location 614 Calabasas called security to make sure I wasn’t stealing . We had a long talk. U have a blessed day Sandy
— SZA (@sza) May 1, 2019
Sephora responded to SZA’s tweet, assuring her that they were taking her complaints seriously.
“We’re sorry to hear about your experience at our Calabasas store and appreciate you bringing this to our attention,” Sephora responded. “We want to let you know we take complaints like this very seriously and are actively working with our teams to address the situation immediately.”
Hi, SZA. We’re sorry to hear about your experience at our Calabasas store and appreciate you bringing this to our attention. We want to let you know we take complaints like this very seriously and are actively working with our teams to address the situation immediately.
— Sephora (@Sephora) May 1, 2019
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.
— Sephora (@Sephora) May 1, 2019
Emily Shapiro, a spokeswoman for Sephora, told Reuters that the company has no tolerance for racial profiling. Despite the assumptions, Shapiro said that Sephora’s upcoming closure was not a direct response to one specific event:
Shapiro said the Sephora closures were not “a response to any one event,” saying that planning for the “inclusivity workshops” had been in progress for several months and that a broader campaign called “We Belong to Something Beautiful” had been in the works for at least a year.
Sephora is not the only company that has taken such measures. Starbucks made a similar move last year, closing 8,000 stores for “anti-bias training.”
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