Israeli cosmetics firm eyes NYC sales, signs Manhattan leases

Israeli cosmetics company DeSheli is breaking into the New York market, having signed three 10-year leases in the last week.

Queens-based real estate investor Avner Fatakhov recently bought a franchise of DeSheli, which grabbed 11,300 square feet at the landmarked, 700,000-square-foot Paramount Building in Times Square. The other leases are for 13,000 square feet at the Moinian Group’s 245 Fifth Avenue in NoMad and 7,000 square feet at 587 Fifth Avenue in Midtown. Asking rents in the buildings are in the $50s per square foot.

In contrast with typical cosmetics retailers, the company offers a free private session at one of its offices and sells a package of products, including skin lotions and hair care products, for about $2,000 apiece. DeSheli is in the process of hiring a company that would assist in the financing of the products for customers who cannot afford to pay upfront, Fatakhov said.

“When someone walks out of a subway in the city, we want them to be within five minutes of one of our locations,” said Fatakhov, who owns several residential buildings in Florida.

Commercial real estate attorney Edward Mermelstein of Rheem Bell & Mermelstein represented DeSheli in a legal capacity in the deals at 1501 Broadway and 245 Fifth, the latter of which will house the company’s New York headquarters. In the 1501 Broadway deal, Colliers International broker Michael Joseph also represented the tenant while Avison Young represented the landlord, a partnership of Levin Properties and other investors. That location is slated to open later this month. Douglas Elliman’s Christine Traina and Avraham Lasri served as broker on the 245 Fifth Avenue deal, a source said.

DeSheli has more than 300 locations in Russia, and one in Los Angeles, Fatakhov said.