Knockout Beauty is opening a new, 1,200-square-foot space on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
The beauty retailing and services concept is the brainchild of Cayli Cavaco Reck, who started documenting her skin care routine via her Knocking on Forty Instagram account. Knockout previously operated a small store in Manhattan, on Lexington Avenue, but the new, expanded location at 1316 Madison Avenue, at 93rd Street, will include two service treatment rooms, as well as retail space. It is Knockout’s largest location yet, Reck said.
“I definitely wanted to create something where there was a space where people could come and be and sit and feel comfortable and have those treatments. We used to do our treatments just behind a curtain — now we have two full-size treatment rooms,” Reck said. Those spaces will allow Knockout to bring its body treatment services, which are offered in Los Angeles and the Hamptons, into Manhattan, she noted.
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“We never did them in New York City because we didn’t have a full treatment room,” she said. “I personally did not feel comfortable having people just drop trou behind a curtain.”
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Knockout will offer lymphatic drainage treatments, which it does using a cupping method, as well as a variety of facials.
The location is in the landmark Claremont building, which is covered in greenery, similar to Knockout’s Hamptons and Locust Valley, Calif., stores. Reck said the spot is “cozy,” and that the neighborhood has lots of cute shops and restaurants, as well as schools.
“I always loved how neighborhood-y it is,” Reck said, speaking about the location. “Diagonally across the street from the store there is an adorable little book store. It reminds me of that movie with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks,” she noted, referencing 1998 rom-com “You’ve Got Mail.”
Reck expects customers to be locals who live or work in the area, as well as women commuting from downtown or Connecticut. “It’s an easy place for them to get in to shop with us or see their aesthetician,” she noted.
Knockout has long has a personal approach to beauty shopping and services, and offered virtual consultations even before the pandemic, Reck said.
“A lot of times, there’s this idea of people being in a monogamous relationship with their retailer, which is important, but I think you have to earn that,” Reck said. “How do you earn that with somebody — you earn that by showing up for them, by delivering results by giving great customer service by being present for them.”
“Almost everybody that works with us works with a specific person on our team,” Reck continued.
She plans to scale those levels of personal service using Knockout’s franchise model. Knockout opened its first franchised store in Locust Valley, N.Y., earlier this year.
Industry sources expect the new Knockout location to do well, and noted that even with the 200-square-foot location on Lexington Avenue, the retailer did about $1 million in sales.
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