Shoppers still craving Sephora stores as thousands queue in Birmingham

Sephora unveiled its latest beauty playground, with its biggest window facade in Europe, in Birmingham's Bullring & Grand Central today as thousands lined up to wait for their turn to browse the aisles of beauty heaven.

The new store, the sixth store to open in the UK as well as the first in the region, opened its doors at 10 am this morning. Over 2000 beauty-obsessed shoppers clamoured to be the first ones to come through the doors and receive one of the 500 goody bags stocked to the brim.

From 7 am, those in line were treated to drinks and beverages while hypeman  Speaker Flex UK kept spirits high.

Local Bollywood Dancers, Bhangra dancers and drummers, street dancers, Caribbean festival dancers and members of the Birmingham City University Cheerleading squad were part of a parade that performed at the front of the store before the big reveal.

But the extravaganza didn't end there. Don One then introduced the iconic "Sephora BA dance" which featured a collection of Sephora’s Beauty Advisors from the Birmingham store and staff from its distribution centre, to dance before the ribbon was cut by Managing Director Sarah Boyd and Store Director Melanie Pryor.

Throughout the day, those in the long line were met with a variety of surprise and delight moments such as giveaways from partner brands Benefit, Tarte, and Sol De Janeiro.

Sarah Boyd, Managing Director at Sephora UK, said: "We are thrilled to finally open the doors to our long-anticipated Sephora Birmingham store within Hammerson’s Bullring & Grand Central centre, and to mark a true brand moment with our biggest window facade in Europe.

"The appetite for our opening from this rich and diverse community has been electrifying and energetic, and it was important for us to honour them with a grand opening procession that celebrated the vibrant people of this city. We are looking forward to welcoming ‘Babs’ from across the city and the region to a beauty space that feels distinctly theirs."

Katy Letch, Head of Leasing UK at Hammerson, added: "As our customers’ most requested brand, Sephora’s launch at Bullring & Grand Central creates even more reasons to visit the destination, amplified further by a range of popular names in beauty exclusive to the Bullring store. It is this constant engagement with our visitors, paired with the creative repositioning of our offer, that maintains demand from both customers and leading brands alike."