Kilian Hennessy, grandson of the founder of LVMH and the heir to a long line of cognac-makers, has signed a lease for his second By Kilian store in Manhattan, 746-square-foot unit at 944 Madison Avenue.
The store, which is between 74th Street and 75th Street, is opposite the recently opened Met Breuer, the Metropolitan Museum’s second Manhattan location. By Kilian’s neighbors along this stretch of Madison Avenue include Moynat, Roland Mouret, IRO and Acne Studios, all of which have recently signed leases, according to Beth Rosen, the broker at RKF who represented By Kilian.
Hennessy, who spent his childhood haunting family cellars in Cognac, found fragrance was his calling before graduating from CELSA, the French communications and journalism school. His childhood memories of the sugar in the alcohol and the wood of the cognac barrels are evident in some of his scents.
Hennessy launched his namesake business in 2007 and has since introduced fragrance collections such as L’Oeuvre Noire, Arabian Nights, Asian Tales, ln the Garden of Good & Evil and Addictive State of Mind. In 2014, Hennessy created a collection of scented jewelry and last year branched into the home area with a collection of scented decorative objects.
Hennessy’s fragrances are sold in seven boutiques worldwide, including a store at 804 Washington Avenue in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District; Rue Cambon, Paris; Crocus City Mall in Moscow; the Burlington Arcade, Mayfair, London; The Pearl, Doha, and Lugano in Switzerland. There’s also a shops-in-shop at Harrods in London.
The landlord of 944 Madison Avenue was represented by CBRE’s Richard Hodos, Daniel Alesandro and Joseph Hudson.