@Kiehls Kiehl’s and Al Tayer Joint Venture

Kiehl’s and Al Tayer Joint Venture

The First Kiehl’s Stand-Alone Boutique in Dubai Opens in Partnership with Al Tayer

November 2013 marked a celebration for renowned skincare apothecary from New York, Kiehl’s; the brand celebrated the 10-year anniversary of Kiehl’s Day as well as the grand opening of the first Kiehl’s Boutique in the UAE. L’Oreal, in partnership with the Al Tayer Group, hosted an event in-store to inaugurate the opening.
In his speech, General Manager of L’Oreal Luxe, Lorenzo Piacentini said, “Kiehl’s is all about credibility with a strong expertise in herbal, medicinal and natural ingredients, and accessibility through a philanthropic and community spirit. Thank you to my partner, Seamus Clune, General Manager Beauty and for his dedicated Team to make it happen with us”
Kiehl’s has a history of large and exciting events taking place in the month of November. In 1647, Peter Stuyvesant, the governor of the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam (later claimed by the British and renamed New York) planted a pear tree on his farm – the Stuyvesant Bouwerie. The very location would later form the intersection of Thirteenth Street and Third Avenue, home to Kiehl’s venerable Flagship store. For 220 years, the tree thrived, bearing a “spicy fruit.” It adorned the corner with its white blossoms and even shaded our visiting patrons many years after the original apothecary first began serving our customers. Stuyvesant’s beloved pear tree, declared by Harper’s Monthly as “the oldest living thing in New York City” in 1862, bore fruit nearly until its demise, when it was struck in a wagon accident just five years later. 

Two decades hence, the New-York Holland Society affixed a plaque to the building Kiehl’s called home in honor of the colonial governor’s pear tree. The historic marker, officially designating the location of Pear Tree Corner, would later find an incongruous place several blocks down when our building underwent renovations. For many years, the rightful home for the Holland Society’s original plaque has been amicably disputed.

On the 12th of November in 2003, Kiehl’s re-planted a pear tree at the same location in honor of the community, officially marking the northeast corner of the intersection once more as “Pear Tree Corner.” The brand honoured by receiving a declaration from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, proclaiming November 12th “Kiehl’s Day!”

This year, we celebrate 10 years since the original plaque returned home to the NYC Flagship store, taking its rightful place in history and honors Kiehl’s longstanding contribution to supporting the local community.  A decade later, Kiehl’s and its customers around the world will celebrate that monumental achievement.