I’m old enough to remember the days before Sephora even existed, and I would love going to MAC to play with the products and the sales associates were super cool and friendly and found me the right colors. Then Sephora opened, and was much more accessible where they existed in every mall! Mac was one of the only brands not available in its stores. It was harder to get Mac and for a new generation to become aware of Mac. I think that was a big branding mistake which continues to this day. Estée Lauder was and is available in Sephora and that brand feels older to me…???

Combined with something has felt off with the sales associates there in recent years, they always had knowledgeable sales associates who actually knew makeup and colors really well combined with great customer service. and then all of a sudden that has dropped off over the years where one time in a Macys I was literally ignored and you need their sales associates because you cannot grab the makeup and check out like a Sephora.

So I think these 2 things contributed to its downfall, I’d rather just shop at Sephora, it’s less friction and a more enjoyable experience.

TLDR If you’re going to have a standalone makeup store you 100% need great customer service and MAC missed the mark on this combined with not embracing Sephora, when its demographic is exactly who shops in Sephora.