DENVER—Origins, the nature-minded brand of The Estee Lauder Companies Inc., on Tuesday officially launched a new concept store in Denver aimed at testing ideas, showing off a commitment to green living and getting customers to stay awhile.
“Denver and Colorado have always been one of the very best markets for Origins since we launched the brand 18 years ago,” said Estee Lauder CEO William Lauder, a part-time Aspen resident. “Colorado consumers love our brand.”
The brand’s 3,200-foot, standalone space in the tony Cherry Creek North shopping district is several times larger than many typical Origins stores that are tucked into department stores. It is purchasing wind power and is made from reclaimed and recycled materials, all gathered from within 500 miles. The store is seeking Silver LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, certification as a green building.
Inside is a library corner, a curtained area for guests to receive hour-long facials and perhaps, in the future, massages.
In the center of the store is an outpost of Boulder’s Pekoe Sip House tea cafe, offering wireless Internet access and baked goods from WaterCourse Foods Bakery of Denver.
On display alongside Origins cosmetics are handbags made of recycled tires and stationery made by Colorado sellers.
The Denver store also will sell a few products made specifically for mile-high residents, including hydration cream to suit Denver’s dry air.
Certain ideas, if successful in Denver, could spread to some of Origins’ 130-plus other stores, Lauder said.
Also Tuesday, Lauder presented a $20,000 check for Denver Urban Gardens to build a community garden on the grounds of a public school in south Denver.
The store has been in the works for about a year. Estee Lauder, which has been affected by consolidating department store companies, has been working to add more freestanding stores.
