Amid a $10 billion sales milestone, Sephora is facing criticism for giving its employees a “stale” reward.

The well-known cosmetics store behemoth Sephora is facing criticism for reportedly providing its dedicated staff with a meagre incentive for helping the company reach its incredible $10 billion sales milestone in 2023. Social media, especially Reddit, was the source of reports that Sephora gave its staff individually wrapped sugar cookies as a way to celebrate the accomplishment.

A Reddit user who commented about receiving only 20 cookies for their entire crew caused outrage, criticizing the gesture as inadequate in light of the company’s enormous success. Employee unhappiness was heightened by remarks that said the cookies were purportedly stale.

Concerns regarding transparency and staff morale were raised when Sephora’s internal card, which was included with the cookies, advised against sharing their contents with outside parties. This caused the unrest to worsen.

Critics, including users on several social media sites, criticized Sephora harshly for what they saw as an insensitive incentive, claiming that the business ought to have given its employees a larger portion of its profits.

In response to the uproar, Sephora underlined how appreciative it is of the contributions made by its staff members and how competitively paid and benefits it offers. Still, the reaction was insufficient to stem the mounting criticism.

According to Glassdoor estimates, sales associates at Sephora in the US make between $14 and $19 per hour, with a median hourly wage of $16.

The parent company of Sephora, LVMH, announced outstanding results for the fourth quarter of 2023. Sephora was a major contributor to the Selective Retailing business group’s 25% organic revenue growth and 76% increase in profit from recurring operations.

Even with Sephora’s financial success, employee unhappiness remains, particularly given the company’s purported inability to fairly acknowledge their contributions.

The debate coincides with Sephora’s recent popularity explosion, which has been partly attributed to its attraction to younger audiences, especially on tween-focused platforms like TikTok where they have flocked to buy high-end skincare and beauty items.

Given the company’s significant financial successes, Sephora is under increasing pressure to address employee complaints and reevaluate its approach to recognizing their accomplishments as the reaction grows.