you are here: Annual Report 2011 / Our portfolio / Tenant profiles / Kiehls

Main-Taunus-Zentrum, Sulzbach / Frankfurt, Kiehls

- A tenant´s profile -

Kiehl’s is a New York-based of high-quality skin and hair care products with a long heritage. The company was founded as a traditional pharmacy in 1851 in New York’s East Village, and the original flagship store can still be found on the corner of 3rd Avenue and 13th Street. The founding family of Kiehl’s sets particular store by meeting the individual needs of each and every customer. Their customers always included their neighbours, so they were always more than just “business partners”. When the Morse family took over the pharmacy in the early 20th century, they too continued this tradition.

Thus the founding fathers of Kiehl’s and their pharmacists and chemists laid the keystone for a level of personalised service that the company is now renowned for the world over.

They soon developed their own range of perfumes which rapidly became known and loved all over Manhattan.

After the Second World War, the pharmacy developed into a renowned manufacturer of natural cosmetics, and the New York store changed from being an insider tip to a trendy rendezvous. Kiehl’s products are set apart by their formulas, which are still unique today, and the high concentration of natural ingredients. Global superstars including Madonna are reported to swear by them. Interestingly, though, these days almost half their customers are men.

In 1988, Aaron’s daughter Jami Morse Heidegger took over the management of the company. As a marketing specialist and amateur pharmacist, she preferred word of mouth and generous distribution of product testers to expensive advertising. The company still pursues this same policy today.

Kiehl’s has been a part of the L’Oréal group since 2000. The aim of the acquisition was to increase the visibility of the brand, which was practically only known in the north-eastern US, while maintaining the exclusivity and high quality of the products.

Today, the company operates worldwide. Around 80% of its marketing budget is still devoted to product testers, which are extensively distributed in shops. “Mr Bones”, a traditional human skeleton who has become the mascot of the Kiehl’s chain, also stands in each store as a reminder of times past. The same goes for the white smocks worn by the sales staff and the antique store fittings. Since November 2011, Kiehl’s has been a tenant in the north extension of the Main-Taunus-Zentrum.

Back to: Café Kreutzkamm