Merger and new site launch for international beauty brand Sephora

Online beauty giant Sephora asked us to support the launch of their UK website after acquiring FeelUnique in 2022.

60%

INCREASE IN ORGANIC TRAFFIC YOY
27%

INCREASE IN TRANSACTIONS YOY
37%

INCREASE IN REVENUE YOY

The Challenge

International beauty giant, Sephora acquired FeelUnique as part of their expansion into the UK. Sephora’s UK launch date was fixed at October 2022.

The challenge that the client presented to Honcho in assisting them in launching the new Sephora UK website, but to take all necessary precautions to protect the FeelUnique traffic during the migration.

The client’s major concern was that a major migration, involving a brand name change, carried an inevitability of organic traffic loss, with a potential to be devastating as the new website was to go live during the pre-Christmas peak trading season.

Strategy

Honcho came up with a very simple left-field solution. We told the client to NOT migrate the websites until the new year, but instead keep both live. Why? Because instead of risking traffic loss before Christmas, we identified that this website launch was an opportunity to have not one, but actually two horses in the race during the Christmas peak.

The client loved the idea. The Honcho team proceeded to help the client launch a technically sound Sephora UK website perfectly on schedule, while for the most part, leaving the FeelUnique website intact.

What happened? Well, the results speak for themselves. Needless to say, the strategy played out perfectly, and having the two websites live simultaneously not only avoided disruption during peak trading, but it led to some record-breaking sales numbers for the UK business. In fact, due to the exceptional sales performance of our “two horse” strategy, the client decided to postpone the planned migration, and instead continue benefiting from both websites for the time being.

"It's been such a pleasure working with Honcho for the Sephora UK launch. The wealth of knowledge shared has been invaluable due the complexity of the migration. The team's positive attitude and always on-hand support helped us to drive the project over the line, despite some unforeseen challenges!”
Luisa Pasquino, SEO & CRO Manager - Sephora

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