THAILAND. Kiehl’s has embarked on a whirlwind tour of Asia’s top travel retail destinations, kicking off with the King Power Srivaree Complex in Bangkok.
This is the fifth instalment of the New York skincare brand’s global ‘Kiehl’s Loves Adventures’ campaign.
The King Power stop was timed to coincide with the travel retailer’s 30th anniversary celebrations.
As reported, the three interactive pop-up stores playfully combine Bangkok’s colourful culture with Kiehl’s New York heritage. All three activations marry the digital world with real-life experience, creating a “fun, informative, and unforgettable” customer journey. The outpost will run until 30 September.
The first pop-up, named the ‘CalenduLAB,’ highlights the brand’s bestselling Calendula Herbal Extract Toner, and its newly-launched Calendula Serum-Infused Water Cream. The pop-up is covered in Calendula blooms and features a life-sized ‘Tuk Tuk’. Inside, guests can play with a 360-degree kinetic installation, and can virtually pop floating Calendula petals on an interactive screen.
The second pop-up puts the spotlight on Kiehl’s sustainability programmes. Highlights include an eco-bicycle game and a virtual reality experience in a traditional Thai boat. Here, guests embark on a virtual journey and learn about Kiehl’s sustainable sourcing processes. The lush greenery in the pop-up also underscores the Kiehl’s ‘Made Better’ campaign, which hopes to mitigate the impacts of climate change and reduce the carbon emissions of air travel.
The brand’s collaboration with PUR Projet aims to plant over 20,000 trees in Thailand’s Isaan region, and educate farmers about sustainable farming techniques and agroforestry. From now until 31 October, US$1 will be donated to the Pur Projet for every purchase of 125ml Kiehl’s Ultra Face Cream.
Kiehl’s also stays true to its ‘Made Better’ promise by maximising the usability of its packaging and shipping materials, and using ethically sourced ingredients whenever possible. For example, the Calendula blooms from its bestselling toner are ethically and sustainably sourced from a community of female farmers in Vietnam.
The third pop-up is a dedicated event zone, specially designed for the launch festivities. The space features recycled foldable stools that further emphasise Kiehl’s sustainability philosophy.
The launch was attended by Kiehl’s Brand Ambassador and Chinese actor Hou Minghao, who greeted hoardes of adoring fans who flew in from China to meet him. Hou – also known as Neo Hou – is a former member of the Chinese boy band ‘Fresh Teenager Geek’. He is best known for his roles in films such as ‘The Devotion of Suspect X’ and for his roles in dramas ‘Cambrian Period’ and ‘When We Were Young’.
To complement the outpost, Kiehl’s also launched a Bangkok exclusive set and travel kit. The Kiehl’s Loves Bangkok Hydration travel retail exclusive set is made up of the Calendula Herbal Extract Alcohol-Free Toner (500ml) the Ultra Face Cream (125ml) and the Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado (28g).
The Kiehl’s Loves Bangkok Travel Kit features an exclusive tote bag and canvas pouch and offers the brand’s bestselling travel beauty essentials all under 100ml. It is made up of the Ultra Facial Cleanser (40ml), Ultra Facial Toner (40ml), Ultra Facial Cream (7ml), Cranberry Seed Masque (14ml), Reducing Concentrate (5ml), Super Multi Corrective Eye Serum (3ml), Lip Balm #1 (3ml), and Amino Acid Shampoo (65ml).
Kiehl’s also released limited-edition Bangkok packaging designs on Kiehl’s products, tote bags, and other travel-friendly gifts with purchase. All items were designed by visual artist Simone Massoni and all exclusive to King Power International.
Kiehl’s Travel Retail Asia Pacific General Manager Petrina Kho said: “The kickoff of our ‘Kiehl’s Loves’ campaign is definitely a trifecta: we celebrated the 30th anniversary of King Power International, contributed to the environment with PUR Projet, and Hou Ming Hao’s appearance definitely elevated the experience. I look forward to our stops in Hainan and Seoul being as meaningful and engaging as today.”
For King Power International Chief Merchandising Officer Antares Cheng (who is also Managing Director of King Power Group Hong Kong -Ed), the Kiehl’s outpost underscores the retailer’s mission to provide an elevated shopping experience for its customers. He said: “We are very pleased to celebrate King Power’s 30th anniversary with Kiehl’s. The brand has always delivered pop-ups that resonated well with our shoppers — this ‘Kiehl’s Loves Bangkok’ outpost is no exception.
“This aligns well with our goal to continuously redefine the duty free shopping experience for travellers at King Power and excite them with evolving forms of immersive retail.”
After Bangkok, the ‘Kiehl’s Loves’ pop-up series will head to Hainan with China Duty Free Group on 20 September and make its final stop in Seoul with Lotte Duty Free on 18 October. Each stop in the campaign will feature the work of visual artist Simone Massoni – who will interpret each city’s themes through colourful artwork that will also be displayed through limited edition Kiehl’s packaging.
Here is a snapshot of our social media coverage of #KiehlsLovesBangkok.
