Crains New York - April 22, 2013 - (Page 42)

Very important parties Continued from Page 41 With no advertising budget, the husband- and wife-owned company decided to host monthly VIP bashes for a prized customer and 15 to 20 of her friends.The evening can cost the store $1,500 in food, booze and giveaways, but that fee is usually recouped, as attendees make purchases totaling about $3,000. “I’m convinced parties like these are key to spreading the word that we exist,” said co-owner Mathilde Thomas, who greeted guests. “I want to show how important our customer is to us. We want them to feel special. This helps do that.” It also brings like-minded women into the store who might be big spenders. “People in New York love discovering new things and new places, and if they hear there’s a cocktail event going on, they want to see what it’s about,” said Amelie Lonergan, a banker and Caudalie’s guest of honor that evening. By 7 p.m., many of her friends were being introduced to one another and to the store for the first time. Facials and jewelry The Erno Laszlo Institute, which also opened in December in SoHo, offers members-only custom-tailored facials to those who pay an annual fee of $3,000. Fashioned after the ideals of the late Hungarian-born dermatologist, the institute threw its first VIP event in March,partnering with local jewelry designer Mimi So. “We wanted to pair beauty both physical and material. Mimi So is a nice fit.She’s a small brand that also needs brand awareness,” said Laura Filancia, the institute’s director. “We also wanted to introduce our brand to a younger audience.” The search for the right client can be pricey. The inaugural event cost $15,000, and Ms. So shoul- dered part of that expense. From 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., 100 guests (35 from Laszlo’s list of 900 people, 65 courtesy of Ms. So) consumed six cases of champagne and noshed on themed jewelry-shaped hors d’oeuvres from 5 Spice Catering. Six models donned Ms. So’s designs, while guests could try on anything that caught their eye at the pop-up shop she created within the store. Laszlo products were also on display. Attendees were able to view the entire skin-care line and purchase items of their choice. A ‘It’s a wonderful way to develop relationships with top clients’ short speech was given about the institute and its membership program. Though the evening drew only one new member,and the store sold a mere $1,000 in products, Ms. Filancia considered the event a success and plans to do the parties on a monthly basis. “Mimi was able to bring us 65 new people who are the type of quality we’re trying to appeal to,” Ms. Filancia said. “You can’t put a price on that.” Guests left with goodie bags containing a Mimi So jewelry box filled with chocolates and a recently launched neck cream from Laszlo. “It was hard to get people out, which is always the sign of a good party,” said Ms. Filancia. Women aren’t the only ones who like a little pampering. Joe Marchesi, co-owner and co- WHAT TO TRY, WHERE TO TRY IT Caudalie http://us.caudalie.com 1031 Lexington Ave. (212) 308-3551 315 Bleecker St. (212) 308-3552 Products to try: Premier Cru face cream and eye cream; $155 and $95, respectively. Erno Laszlo Institute www.ernolaszlo.com/institute 382 West Broadway (212) 300-4111 Treatment to try: The nutritional boosting facial. Available only for members who pay $3,000 annually for 15 facials. Truman’s www.trumans-nyc.com 120 E. 56th St. (212) 759-5015 121 Madison Ave. (212) 683-9400 Treatment to try: The Professional Package: haircut, manicure and shoe shine; $88; 45-minute service. 42 | Crain’s New York Business | April 22, 2013 founder of Truman’s Gentlemen’s Groomers, two stores offering salon, barber and spa services in east midtown,offers events that provide unique and exclusive experiences for top customers. Liquor companies in the mix Between the two shops, Mr. Marchesi throws six to eight special events per year.Past parties have included teaming up with liquor companies like Ultimate Vodka, Compass Box Whiskey and McKenzie Bourbon, and designers such as Activist Eyewear, David Hart Ties and custom-shirt maker Alexander West. “The shirt event was one of my favorite evenings,” Mr. Marchesi said. “We want to introduce our guys to a lifestyle outside of the grooming aspect while offering them something different during the evening.” At the Alexander West party on March 13, guests looked at fabric swatches, were custom-measured for shirts, drank cocktails and received complimentary haircuts, shoe shines and shaves. While some of the events are held in the store, others are off-site. Sony, located around the corner from the East 56th Street Truman’s, invited 50 of the shop’s best customers to an exclusive soiree that featured soonto-be-released electronics. Nick Riley, a manager for the Hudson Hotel and a frequent Truman’s client who is invited to many events, found the one at Sony the most memorable. “For a technology nerd like me, it was wonderful to see something the rest of the world wasn’t privy to,” he said. Networking opportunity Aside from the brotherhood, Mr. Riley said the events unlock doors he wouldn’t be able to open on his own. “I also love the networking aspect. These events introduce me to the right people while giving me ideas on how to run my hotel. They teach me how to treat my clients better.” To earn VIP status, customers need to receive 25 services at Truman’s in a year. Events take three weeks of planning and cost $1,500 to $3,000, which is generally not recouped that night. “The men aren’t here to spend money. We want to give them something, not ask them for something,” said Mr. Marchesi. “It’s a wonderful way to develop relationships with our top clients.” Caudalie participants were equally enthused. By 8 p.m. the cheese platter was bare, the wine bottles empty and Ms. Lonergan’s friends had cleaner, fresher skin, a goodie bag, and an understanding of the brand. And best of all, Ms. Lonergan felt like a superstar. “This was a nice excuse to see a lot of my friends and learn something about this new brand,” said Ms.Lonergan.“I had a terrific time. Caudalie handled everything. All I had to do was show up.” ■ SOURCE LUNCH: ALAN STEEL By Daniel Geiger With Javits saved for now, prez forges on A lan Steel faced a conundrum when he took over as president of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in March 2012. Gov. Andrew Cuomo had just announced that the facility should be razed and redeveloped. Mr. Steel took a head-down approach, focusing on improving the building’s services and overseeing the completion of a $400 million-plus renovation, including the installation of the city’s largest green roof. The governor has since backburnered Javits’ demise. Mr. Steel, a former convention and trade-show executive, has begun to think about the 700,000-square-foot facility’s longer-term place on the fastevolving far West Side. What are your goals? How has the past year been? The development of the rail yards is versation with peers in the convention and hotel industries, and I would look across the bridge, possibly at the rail yards in Queens. Willets Point has interesting elements to it.I would be looking for something with that type of proximity to existing infrastructure. Eastern Queens seems a little far out, but anything is possible. My big campaign is building a yes culture.We’re trying to imbue all employees that the answer to any question is yes. It’s yes, we’ll find a way to do it. What’s going to happen to Javits is not ultimately my responsibility or any of my staff.The only influence we can have on that conversation is if people are saying this is valuable to the economy. It’s pretty much been 24/7. I’m here rapidly changing the far West Side. What by 6:30 or 7 in the mornplace will Javits have in the new landscape? ing.In my position,you get More than anything, the people asking you a lot of arrival of the No. 7 line things, especially in the changes the dynamic. The first 12 months of the job, PRINT building for years has had so it’s good to have an hour RESTAURANT to bring customers here by and a half and actually 653 11th Ave. car or bus. One thing we catch up. But it has its (212) 757-2224 have thought of is trying to perks. I came in on Saturwww.print create a food destination day because I wanted to restaurant.com here. I look at the Time bring my kids in. We had AMBIENCE: A quiet and Warner Center and what the first robotics conferpolished finethey have. We have the ence, where schools from dining spot in an High Line crowd. There New York City and around area with few are a bunch of things that the state and the world had such options could be done to make us taken part in a roboticWHAT THEY ATE: more attractive. development project. Ⅲ Halibut over vegetables and These things would climb puréed sweet Will the roster of conventions ropes and have competipotato change? tions. It was a lot of fun. Ⅲ Grilled octopus, It is something we should roasted beet Was it awkward when Mr. be looking at. Will I say to salad Cuomo suggested Javits be Mark Schienberg [presiⅢ Two razed? dent of the Greater New cappuccinos Samuel Johnson said nothYork Auto Dealers AssociTAB: ing concentrates a man’s ation] that the New York $80.57, plus tip Auto Show shouldn’t take mind like imminent execution. With the threat of the building place here? Of course not. We declosing, does that get everyone to pend on it to sustain our operating think and say, “This is serious, and all budget. But that’s not a show that acyou can do is do a better job”? It helps. tually uses up that many hotel rooms. Because we don’t get government Isn’t there still a sense of uncertainty funding to pay for our $140 million surrounding the future of Javits? budget to operate, we mark up the laWe’re not seeing a lot of people bor we provide to move shows in and booking far out, in, say, 2025. Some out, and that adds to our problem of conventions book four-year cycles. If being seen as expensive. If there were you tell them you don’t know if you’re a 25-cent hotel tax that we could get going to be around, it might influ- on a more permanent basis, we could ence their decision. be less expensive, and I think we could make more careful decisions If you had to put Javits somewhere else, about what conventions are best for where would you put it? the city’s economy. But there are poI would want to establish a lot of con- litical issues with that. Ⅲ WHERE THEY DINED INSIDE TIP: If there’s a convention in town, Print is likely to be busy. http://www.printrestaurant.com http://www.printrestaurant.com http://us.caudalie.com http://www.ernolaszlo.com/institute http://www.trumans-nyc.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - April 22, 2013

Crains New York - April 22, 2013
IN THE BOROUGHS
IN THE MARKETS
THE INSIDER
BUSINESS PEOPLE
CORPORATE LADDER
REAL ESTATE DEALS
OPINION
ALAIR TOWNSEND
GREG DAVID
REPORT: GREEN NEW YORK
THE LIST
FOR THE RECORD
CLASSIFIEDS
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
SOURCE LUNCH
OUT AND ABOUT
SNAPS

Crains New York - April 22, 2013