Since its inception in 1970s Paris, Sephora has been a disruptive force within the beauty industry. Today, the retailer has 1,750 stores in 30 countries and is turning out revenues upwards of $4 billion.

From its very birth, “this new stand-alone beauty and fragrance store was a real shock for store operators throughout the world,” notes Forbes. “The department stores believed they had the only retail format capable of effectively selling premium beauty and fragrance products. They were wrong.”

Acquired by Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy in 1997, the first Sephora store opened in New York in 1998. Today there are close to 706 stores in the US, including 386 boutiques inside JCPenney stores, a key element that has kept the ailing department store from drowning. Breaking the barrier of entry, Sephora applied that iconoclastic spirit to wooing a new, younger consumer than those frequenting department stores, with modern brands and a cross-sell of products by in-store sales associates who primp and paint customer’s faces from their choice of products, arranged alphabetically.Continue reading...

Above, watch a guided tour through the "Louis Vuitton - Marc Jacobs" exhibition that opened during Paris Fashion Week and runs through September 16th.

Your average consumer has no idea what’s in a can of Pepsi as much as they know what’s in a can of Coke, but one thing the latter has is the mythology of a secret recipe. And that is something that consumers love, USA Today reports.

On Thursday, Coke moved the 125-old “secret recipe” from a safe-deposit box at an Atlanta SunTrust Bank (where it has resided for 86 years) into a "vault of the secret formula" at the soda maker’s World of Coca-Cola tourist attraction in Atlanta, the city that's renowned as Coke's global HQ.

Now, for the princely sum of $16 admission, anyone can go into the exhibit and see the actual vault that Coke's actual recipe is in, adding a new chapter to the fabled history of the beverage's formula.Continue reading...

As Adweek notes, Stella Artois has been fetishizing its nine-step 'perfect pour' for many years, but it's only now merging the mythical methodology with its camp, 1960's-inspired campaigns. Below, check out the brand's more serious takes on the ritual, starting with its new mobile app.Continue reading...

Apple announced the death of Steve Jobs yesterday with a classy homepage tribute and these words: "Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple."

Apple's board added in a separate statement, "Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve."

Among the many other moving tributes to the Apple co-founder's legacy:Continue reading...

When we profiled Panera Bread in 2006, the bakery chain was already flying high.

Five years later, Panera has a nearly 60% market share in the bakery-cafe category in the US, according to food research and consulting firm Technomic. Panera's, closest competitor, Einstein Bros. Bagels, has a little over 8% market share. It also competes with Au Bon Pain, which is in the midst of a brand refresh to increase its market share.

Panera has grown into far more than a place to grab a cup of coffee and a pastry.Continue reading...

Brand marketers have long been intrigued with the use of scent as a potential differentiating feature. Maybe it all started with Smell-O-Vision, an ill-fated technology that was used to pump different smells throughout movie theaters in 1960. Smell-O-Vision stunk — it died after just one movie.

Nowadays, scent is a key part of any number of beauty and cosmetic products, typically targeting women. Increasingly, though, scent plays an important role in men's products, especially deodorants. And the latest innovation is a masculine knock-off of a concept that was first aimed at women in 2005 — the scented razor.Continue reading...

Billed as the first chapter in a new global campaign from Bombay Sapphire, the brand's new Infused with Imagination cinema and TV ad, above, features a captivating installation featuring 75,000-plus hand-applied crystals (Swarovski, presumably) that took more than 2,500 hours over nine months to create.

The specially commissioned three-dimensional artwork (designed by illustrator Yehrin Tong and photographed by Richard Foster, who has worked with De Beers, Gucci, Rolls-Royce and other luxury brands) aims to capture the essence, character, "timeless elegance, luxury and craftsmanship" of the alcohol brand.Continue reading...