Sephora is a French beauty retailer that expanded to Japan in 1999 but left the market in 2001 due to difficulties. The document discusses Sephora's history, products, international presence and reasons for entering the Japanese market. However, Sephora faced challenges with market research, brand image and operating only 7 stores. To succeed in Japan, the document recommends adapting products to Japanese tastes, hiring local representatives and forming partnerships with distributors.