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Sephora will temporarily close all its stores on Wednesday

Sephora
Sephora is closing all stores in the US for "inclusion workshops" on June 5. Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images

  • Sephora is closing locations across the US on the morning of Wednesday, June 5.
  • The makeup retailer is holding inclusion workshops for employees to build a "more inclusive beauty community."
  • The training comes after the musician SZA tweeted that a Sephora employee called security on her while she was shopping at a store in Calabasas, California.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
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Sephora is taking a page out of Starbucks' playbook and closing all its stores in the US for "inclusion workshops."

"On the morning of 6/5, every Sephora store, distribution center, and corporate office in the US will close to host inclusion workshops for our employees," the company said on social media.

"These values have always been at the heart of Sephora, and we're excited to welcome everyone when we reopen," the statement continued. "Join us in our commitment to a more inclusive beauty community."

A Sephora representative told Business Insider that the "We Belong to Something Beautiful" campaign has been in the works for at least a year, including planning for inclusivity training for several months. 

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"We Belong to Something Beautiful builds on the many diversity and inclusion programs that have existed at Sephora since its inception, and has been in the works for at least one year — as has the store closure and inclusivity workshop ... This is a proactive message to support Sephora's new manifesto and commitment," the representative said in an email. 

The announcement comes after Sephora faced backlash earlier in May when musician SZA tweeted that an employee called security on her while she was shopping at a Sephora location in Calabasas, California.

Read more: SZA says a Sephora employee called security to make sure she wasn't stealing beauty products

"Lmao Sandy Sephora location 614 Calabasas called security to make sure I wasn't stealing. We had a long talk. U have a blessed day Sandy," SZA wrote on Twitter.

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"We take complaints like this very seriously, profiling on the basis of race is not tolerated at Sephora," Sephora said in a statement to INSIDER at the time. "Our purpose has always been rooted in our people and ensuring that Sephora is an inclusive and welcoming space for all our clients."

Sephora is taking a page out of Starbucks' and Chipotle's playbook in its response. Starbucks closed all its stores across the US for a half day in May 2018 after two black men were arrested at a Philadelphia location following their failure to purchase anything in the store. And in 2016 Chipotle closed for a half day to retrain workers on food safety after the chain was hit with food-poisoning outbreaks.

This article has been updated with a comment from Sephora on the "We Belong to Something Beautiful" campaign.

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