Beauty: From NY with love

Kiehls pharmacy in New York. Photo / Supplied

When two venerable institutions - each central to their cities since the Victorian era - come together there's bound to be the odd skeleton uncovered. But Harley-Davidsons parked by the front door?

That's all part of the mix as Smith & Caughey's prepares to play host to the Kiehl's beauty brand. The installation of Kiehl's front and centre of the Queen St department store has been a two-year project, involving some odd requests from this unusual company. There's the bike, the chandelier and Mr Bones, the skeleton who takes residence in all Kiehl's stores in a nod to a heritage as an old-style apothecary.

Customers may have noticed the building of a brick wall, which from next Tuesday will be lined with the quirky mix of products Kiehl's is famous for. Eventually the wall will be festooned with customer photographs, part of the community interaction Kiehl's fosters. But before New Zealand gets its first taste of this American original (which will be ushered in with a lunchtime Harley drive-by, a jazz band and sidewalk popcorn to bring that New York vibe to midtown Auckland), Smith & Caughey's has its annual summer sale to stage.

Senior staff are juggling calls to New York, sourcing the requisite Harley and ensuring this big launch goes to plan. The veteran retailers seem excited. "Kiehl's is fresh, something new to the market," explains merchandise manager Sue Millar.

They've found Kiehl's a breath of fresh air. While the decision to bring it here is obviously a commercial one and part of the ongoing expansion of the relatively recession-proof in-store beauty business, it's not every company that has a canine and an equine line to set beside its human offerings. The latter includes skincare the stars are gifted at the Golden Globes each year; Kiehl's being the beauty goodies stashed in their bulging loot bags.

The company has big name endorsements: Brad Pitt uses the body wash, Gwyneth Paltrow and Halle Berry love the lip balm and Reese Witherspoon rates the moisturiser. Celebrities also like the association with a firm that has a mission statement which partly states: "A worthwhile company must have a purpose for its existence. Not only the everyday work-a-day purpose to earn a just profit, but beyond that, to improve in some way the quality of the community to which it is committed."

This quaint sounding echo of integrity still dictates how the business is run, even though global giant L'Oreal bought into it back in 2000.

Kiehl's was a pioneer of product labelling and develops charity partnerships in each area it operates - a New Zealand hook-up is soon to be announced. It doesn't advertise, relying rather on word of mouth, customer service and product sampling (up to three items per customer). "We would rather make a friend than push a sale," is the line.

The original store is in the heart of Manhattan's Lower East Side, a once grungy neighbourhood that has amped up its star wattage. Local celebs can pop into Kiehl's on the corner of 13th St and Third Avenue, and look out on a pear tree, as shoppers did back in 1851 when Kiehl's set up shop. It sold homeopathic and herbal remedies and even leeches, before becoming a full-service pharmacy in the 1920s. That first tree didn't last the distance, but with its expansion into New Zealand

the company will have spread its branches into 38 countries. And last decade another pear was finally planted by Kiehl's on the so-called, but long empty, Pear Tree Corner, the site where a wagon wiped out what had been a New York landmark for more than 200 years. The replanting led the Mayor of New York to declare back in 2003 that November 12 would be known as Kiehl's Day. In another nod to history, pear is an ingredient in some Kiehl's products, including essential oils.

The company draws heavily on natural ingredients, but won't shy away from limited use of preservatives. One of its pre-WWII chemists, was Aaron Morse, an early supplier of fluoride and penicillin as well as aloe vera.

Morse's father, a one-time apprentice at Kiehl's had bought out the founding family, but kept the name, though it is the Morse family's heritage that has shaped the brand for much of the 20th century.

The hobbies of various descendants, including motorcycling and flying, lent names and symbolism to products. A daughter who rode ponies prompted the introduction of horse shampoo. The 1970s spawned the likes of Musk Oil and White Eagle Shave Cream and it was then that the Smithsonian Institution inducted more than 100 Kiehl's products into the museum's permanent collection.

This eclecticism makes browsing the shelves of a Kiehl's store a voyage of discovery, made easier by a word-heavy, old-fashioned labelling convention that spells out just what a product is. Until now, New Zealanders have had to travel to Sydney to find Kiehl's favourites like Creme de Corps, Lip Balm 1, Amino Acid Shampoo, Facial Fuel Moisturiser for men and Ultra Facial Cream for women.

The standalone store in Paddington is expecting a fall-off in the number of people coming in to stock up, but has been offering training assistance to the Kiwi newcomer to the Kiehl's family.

The counter manager here is Tom Scoales, formerly a front-of-house staffer at Stephen Marr salons. Like many of what Kiehl's calls its "customer representatives", his is not the traditional beauty counter background. The Englishman was drawn to the job (along with 300-odd applicants) because of his experience of Kiehl's overseas.

Smith & Caughey's managing director Andrew Caughey, who honed in first on the crowd-pulling M.A.C brand, decided to add Kiehl's to the mix after he too saw how it performed overseas.

Millar says: "It's a perfect fit," citing the family ethos and heritage values of both firms.

In line with international trends, the department store has expanded and revamped its beauty department in recent years as befits the area of a store with the biggest turnover and ability to generate in-store excitement. New counters, specialist areas for fine fragrance, men's grooming, well-being and gift items have all been added.

Now comes Kiehl's with its peculiar requests, putting special projects manager Kevin Broadfoot on a search for Hog heaven while planning a giant window wrap.

Of Kiehl's, he says: "The more fun you want to have with it, you can,"