Kiehl’s Hot On Your Heels

Kiehl’s Opens its first store in South Africa.

Kiehl’s Since 1851, the iconic New York purveyor of the finest skin care products, hair and bodycare formulations, opened its doors to its first store in Africa. The store is in Edgars Sandton City.

Kiehl’s started as an old-style European apothecary in New York’s East Village in 1851 and sought to address the needs and concerns of the community of the East village. Kiehl’s distinct values and business model grew from this ethos of personalized service and quality formulations.   Kiehl’s offers the best quality skin-, hair- and bodycare formulations to the diverse South African consumers.

South Africa is the 42nd country to launch Kiehl’s in the last 10 years.

The ingredients are the single most important component in a Kiehl’s product and only formulas with ingredients that are truly beneficial to the skin are selected: “We therefore offer the highest concentrations of the finest ingredients at an accessible price. This has always resonated with customers in existing and new markets.  The sophisticated South African customer appreciates value and we believe Kiehl’s values will resonate with them”. – Marketa Havlik-Liebenberg, General Manager for L’Oreal Luxe

Sampling, or as Kiehl’s calls it, their unique “Try before you buy” philosophy, is a real value-add to consumers. Globally, Kiehl’s samples 40 million units a year. Havlik-Liebenberg says this unique philosophy has been at the cornerstone of Kiehl’s long successful history and shows the brand’s confidence in their formulations. “We know if customers are allowed to try the appropriate products for their skin type, they will come back and buy them because they know they are spending their money on a product that works for them. We are confident that we have products for everyone so we provide a no-pressure environment for customers to sample the formulations and learn about us”.

Further to the “try before you buy” philosophy, Kiehl’s offer a 28-day 100% money back guarantee.  

The Sandton City store has kept to International architectural and design guidelines to include elements that gives Kiehl’s is unique shopping environment, such as the “New York red face brick” wall, wooden floors, an antique chandelier, Mr Bones (Kiehl’s iconic replica human skeleton, introduced to the Flagship store in New York over 50 years ago, and present in every store globally), and a Harley Davidson motorbike, an homage to Kiehl’s founding family’s love of extreme sports.

kiehlsskeleton
Kiehls Skincare Wall
“People are drawn to brands that are not self-centred or self-serving and these are the founding values that gives Kiehl’s its global cult status.” – Marketa Havlik-Liebenberg, General Manager for L’Oreal Luxe+

Read Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Foam Reviews

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