Cosmetics businesses win IDA tax breaks for planned $4.5 million expansion in Melville

Two fast-growing sellers of cosmetics, hair-care products and beauty tools plan to combine their Jamaica, Queens, and Port Washington operations at a Melville warehouse, executives said.

Nicka K New York and Absolute New York have leased 158,115 square feet at 235 Pinelawn Rd., home to a new warehouse that was built and has been owned by New Jersey-based Hartz Mountain Industries Inc. for the past several years.

The site was home to the Newsday headquarters for nearly 40 years.  

Nicka and Absolute are owned by Hyon Chung Kim and his wife, Bernicka. They started Nicka in 1995 and Absolute in 2013.

“Consolidating both companies under one roof will allow both companies to support and benefit each other” by “unifying” the departments responsible for sales, marketing, product development, logistics and management, he said in an application for tax breaks from the Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency.

Nicka and Absolute sell lipstick, mascara, skin cream, nail polish, eyelashes, tweezers and other products under their respective names and Poppy & Ivy Beauty. Customers include independently owned beauty supply stores, salons and drugstores.

Marketing director Alex Chung estimated that Nicka has about 12,000 customers in the United States and Absolute has more than 7,000, along with customers in more than 60 other countries.

“We have a tremendous expansion in mind,” he told the IDA board last month. “This is a huge step for us.”

Nicka, now based in Jamaica, and Absolute, now based in Port Washington, plan to spend a combined $4.5 million to carve out a 33,000-square-foot office from the cavernous warehouse.

They also will purchase pallet racks and other equipment for an adjacent 125,115-square-foot distribution center.

To support the project, the IDA board voted unanimously to grant preliminary approval for a sales-tax exemption of up to $250,125 on the purchase of equipment and furnishings.

In addition, Nicka and Absolute will benefit from reduced rent because Hartz in May was granted $2.5 million in property-tax breaks. The savings over 15 years is less than the developer initially won because it reduced by half the number of jobs to be created by the warehouse, from 500 to 250.

IDA board member Brian Beedenbender, who voted against helping Hartz, said last month that together Nicka and Absolute will bring 147 jobs to Suffolk and add 30 jobs within two years.

“They are occupying 25% of the space in that building but fulfilling 70% of the jobs” that are required by the IDA of Hartz, he said.

The new positions will pay, on average, $53,450, according to the Nicka/Absolute application for IDA help.

In May, Hartz vice president James P. Rhatican said it would subdivide the 669,186-square-foot warehouse for four to six tenants after failing to find a single tenant that wanted the entire building.

He also said the lower job commitment was necessary because prospective tenants are concerned about the possibility of losing the property-tax breaks, which would impact rents, if one of them fails to hire enough employees and the jobs threshold isn’t met.

Besides Nicka and Absolute, other tenants include a pharmaceutical company that has leased 90,000 square feet and pledged to create 40 jobs, according to Rhatican. An adjacent warehouse, built and owned by Hartz, is rented by Amazon.

Rhatican said on Thursday, "We are in discussions to lease the remaining space."

Kelly Murphy, the IDA's acting executive director, noted that Absolute is a locally based company “and we are happy to partner with them to help keep them on Long Island.”

By James T. Madore

james.madore@newsday.comJamesTMadore

James T. Madore writes about Long Island business news including the economy, development, and the relationship between government and business. He previously served as Albany bureau chief.