Sephora accused of discriminating against Asian-American customers

Thursday, November 20, 2014
San Francisco-based Sephora
San Francisco-based Sephora
KGO-KGO

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- San Francisco-based Sephora has been accused of discriminating against its Asian-American customers.

The lawsuit alleges the customers are unable to take advantage of sales and buy in bulk.

It says Sephora assumes all Chinese and Asian customers will resell their products.

The lawsuit cites an email in which Sephora acknowledges it deactivated certain accounts to prevent sale items from being resold at higher prices.

Back in January, 7 On Your Side told a similar story from Bay Area resident Cindy Liu, who then had her account reopened by Sephora.

7 On Your Side contacted Sephora about the lawsuit and the company told us that the lawsuit significantly distorts the facts and that clients from a number of countries from around the world have been impacted.

Sephora has released the following information:

"We have established a VIB hotline to ensure that if we are able to verify that your account was erroneously deactivated, it is reactivated immediately. Please call 877-VIB-ONLY (1-877-842-6659) If you experience any difficulties placing your order please contact us at 1-877-SEPHORA (1-877-737-4672) or email us at client.service@sephora.com."