corporation genre spa and retail product company founded new york city u.s. 1996 founder marcia kilgore headquarters new york city united states number of locations 21 1 area served north america united kingdom products bath body and skincare services facial massage body treatment manicure pedicure and waxing parent steiner leisure ltd. website www.blissworld.com bliss is a multi channel spa and retail product company founded in 1996 and headquartered in downtown new york . the company retails its own line of bath body and skincare products through its bliss catalog website bliss spa stores and at international luxury retailers including bloomingdale s harrods harvey nichols neiman marcus saks fifth avenue nordstrom selfridges and sephora . 2 contents 1 history 2 timeline 3 the brand 4 acquisition by lvmh 5 acquisition by starwood hotels and resorts 6 partnership with jetblue 7 acquisition by steiner leisure limited 8 awards 9 references history edit bliss spa was founded by marcia kilgore a saskatchewan canada native who moved to manhattan in 1987 to attend columbia university . during college she became a personal trainer to make money . soon after she decided to take a course in skincare largely because she had personally suffered from acne since her preteen years . inspired by her classes she began giving facials to her friends out of her east village apartment . 3 4 she opened her first single room office in new york s soho district in 1991 followed by the opening of a three room mini spa called let s face it in june 1993 . 5 to accommodate increasing demand kilgore opened the first bliss spa in soho in july 1996 . timeline edit july 1996 bliss flagship spa bliss soho opens on broadway in new york city march 19 1999 lvmh acquires bliss december 17 1999 bliss opens bliss 57 on east 57th street in new york city november 26 2001 bliss opens its first international spa bliss london october 2002 bliss launches its first quickbliss spa service station at harvey nichols knightsbridge in london offering an abbreviated menu of fast facials waxing and nail services january 2004 starwood hotels & resorts worldwide acquires bliss november 2004 bliss 49 opens in the w new york in new york city july 2005 bliss san francisco opens located in the w san francisco october 2005 bliss chicago opens at the w chicago lake shore march 2006 bliss los angeles opens in the w los angeles westwood april 2006 bliss announces partnership with jetblue airways in which bliss amenity kits are given to passengers on overnight flights june 2006 bliss dallas openes at the w dallas victory march 2008 bliss atlanta midtown openes in the w atlanta midtown september 2008 bliss scottsdale opens at the w scottsdale october 2008 bliss hong kong opens at the w hong kong january 2009 bliss atlanta downtown opens at the w atlanta downtown february 2009 bliss doha opens at the w doha march 2009 bliss hoboken opens at the w hoboken april 2009 bliss ft. lauderdale opens at the w fort lauderdale april 2011 bliss st. petersburg 6 opens at the w st. petersburg the brand edit atmosphere bliss spa is known for introducing its spa atmosphere 5 and is often credited for starting the mid 1990s spa boom . 7 a sense of humor is evident throughout the brand with whimsically named spa treatments and products such as quadruple thighpass for an anti cellulite treatment . 5 blissgirl blissgirl one of the most definitive images associated with the bliss brand is their blissgirl character an illustrated girl who appears throughout bliss branded channels including bliss catalog covers and blissworld.com . she is usually depicted using beauty products in playful ways to align with bliss playful brand personality . since her introduction she has undergone several different illustration styles and characteristics evolving over the years . she has been shown with almost every hair color and has appeared as different races . she is almost always dressed in a signature white towel and bliss softening socks and glamour gloves . products the products are inspired by the company s spa treatments and many of them are meant to allow customers to recreate the spa experience at home . 5 8 this is evident in such products as the poetic waxing kit the kit contains the same wax used during in spa waxing treatments and the triple oxygen instant energizing mask a foaming mask that s based on their triple oxygen treatment facial . positioning bliss spa positions itself as the young modern antithesis to stuffy intimidating spas 4 that includes rhythm & blues music a brownie buffet movie while you manicure nail stations and other features . 9 10 the spa has attracted celebrity clientele including oprah winfrey julia roberts uma thurman jennifer lopez and madonna . 4 acquisition by lvmh edit in march 1999 the luxury products group lvmh mo t hennessy louis vuitton announced the acquisition of a majority stake in bliss spa for a reported 30 million . 11 it was lvmh s first north american acquisition 4 and a break with their previous strategy of pursuing european prestige brands . 12 in december 1999 lvmh christened its office tower at 57th street and madison avenue in new york city by opening the second bliss spa bliss 57 . 4 acquisition by starwood hotels and resorts edit in january 2004 starwood hotels & resorts worldwide acquired bliss spa from lvmh for a reported 25 million in cash . 13 as part of the acquisition starwood launched bliss spas in several of its w hotels in an effort to move its w hotel brand into the resort business . the first w hotel to premiere a bliss spa was the w new york in new york city in november 2004 . 7 all w hotels also feature bliss in room amenities 14 regardless of whether or not the hotel houses an actual bliss spa . the bliss sinkside six pack includes a face wash body wash body butter shampoo conditioner and a bar of soap . starwood s sheraton and aloft hotel chain will also feature bliss amenities . 15 partnership with jetblue edit in april 2006 jetblue partnered with bliss spa hoping to fill seats in fiercely competitive transcontinental markets . 16 on jetblue s overnight flights from the western united states called shut eye flights customers received an exclusive bliss branded amenity kit containing breath freshening mint lip balm lemon sage body butter an eyeshade and earplugs . 17 18 the kits were distributed only on flights between western states and the east coast for a one year period . acquisition by steiner leisure limited edit in january 2010 steiner leisure limited completed its 100 million acquisition of bliss from starwood . 19 awards edit spa finder best brand 2007 20 conde nast traveler hot list 2006 bliss san francisco 21 hot list 2007 bliss los angeles 22 allure best body scrub super minty soap n scrub 23 best hotel day spa bliss 49 24 instyle magazine best beauty buy 2007 baggage handler 25 best spa in middle east 2010 bliss spa doha references edit bliss spa locations starwood follows its bliss with spa chain . highbeam research inc. september 3 2004 . retrieved may 23 2008 . make a statement . your own . karastan . archived from the original on march 13 2008 . retrieved may 23 2008 . a b c d e marcia kilgore s spa . thecanadianencyclopedia.com . retrieved august 10 2010 . a b c d pumphrey angela 2005 . coolbrands . bliss spa st. petersburg official website . a b industry news starwood acquires bliss from lvmh ; bliss spas to debut in w hotels as part of acquisition of spa catalog and beauty products company . hospitality net . retrieved august 10 2010 . susan lee view profile . diy spa guide . divinecaroline.com . retrieved august 10 2010 . bliss opens its first west coast spa at the w san francisco ; bliss continues to grow with spas set to debut at w hotels in chicago los angeles and dallas business wire find articles at bnet.com . findarticles.com . july 19 2005 . retrieved august 10 2010 . united states . w hotels los angeles w los angeles westwood hotel rooms at whotels.com . starwoodhotels.com . retrieved august 10 2010 . lvmh acquires majority stake in blissworld . banking & finance financial markets & investing from . allbusiness.com . retrieved august 10 2010 . maneker marion december 13 1999 . marital bliss . nymag.com . retrieved august 10 2010 . starwood buys bliss spa to build w resorts . usa today . january 21 2004 . retrieved april 26 2010 . starwood hotels starting to increase promotion of their bliss spa brand passions of a zealot . passionsofazealot.wordpress.com . november 7 2007 . retrieved august 10 2010 . aloft sm hotels prepare for takeoff reservation lines open for business business wire business news hot msn money . news.moneycentral.msn.com . july 27 2010 . retrieved august 10 2010 . jetblue adds spa amenities on redeyes aviation msnbc.com . msnbc . april 4 2006 . retrieved august 10 2010 . about jetblue shut eye . jetblue . retrieved august 10 2010 . about jetblue ceo david neelman s flight log . jetblue . retrieved august 10 2010 . steiner leisure buys bliss . multichannelmerchant.com . january 4 2010 . retrieved august 10 2010 . outstanding in a particular category 2007 at spafinder . spafinder.com . retrieved august 10 2010 . conde nast s annual hot list hotels spas & more archived november 15 2006 at the wayback machine . hospitality trends . conde nast traveler unveils its annual hotels restaurants spas and clubs hot list hospitality trends . htrends.com . retrieved august 10 2010 . nivea . beauty . amazon.com . retrieved august 10 2010 . bliss 49 at w hotel new york bliss . blissworld.com . retrieved august 10 2010 . details best beauty buys 2007 product finder products . in style . retrieved august 10 2010 . retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title bliss spa & oldid 738240242 categories companies based in new york cityhidden categories articles with wayback machine linksuse mdy dates from june 2013 navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate 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