Parisian cashmere brand Kujten has signed leases for three additional U.S. stores — in SoHo, Aspen and Miami — a year after opening its first American unit at 831 Madison Avenue, and with the U.S. already generating around 10 percent of total revenues.

The rollout begins with a 2,700-square-foot store at 92 Greene Street in SoHo, slated to open at the end of October. An Aspen unit at 205 South Mill Street follows in November, and a Miami location in the Bal Harbour shopping center is due by February. The Aspen and Miami stores each measure roughly 1,300 square feet.

Carole Benaroya, who founded Kujten with Stephanie Eriksson in 2012, said the Madison Avenue store performed well right out of the box, prompting the search for further locations.

Why SoHo, and why now?

Benaroya said the company originally weighed Madison Avenue against SoHo when it first looked at New York, and Madison won. Strong early trading changed the calculus.

"After the first six months, we realized the product and the brand was being very welcomed by New Yorkers and Americans," she said.

She compares the Madison Avenue customer to the clientele of Paris's 16th or 18th arrondissements, while the SoHo store is expected to draw a downtown, international and fashion-forward shopper — a deliberate segmentation of the brand's New York footprint across two distinct trade zones.

What drives the resort-town strategy?

Aspen mirrors the European mountain resorts where Kujten already sells, giving the brand a proven channel logic rather than an experimental bet.

"We have always had a very strong connection with the mountains," Benaroya said. "Kujten has long been present in Courchevel, Megève and Saint Moritz, and opening in Aspen is a natural part of that story. In a way, it is the American counterpart to these great European resorts."

Miami, despite its climate, was a lease the brand took without hesitation once space opened in Bal Harbour. "It's very difficult to get in," Benaroya said, adding that the store will sit close to competitors to give customers a direct choice. She also described Miami as a "getaway for South Americans," positioning the location as a catchment for Latin American travel shoppers.

How big is the U.S. business today?

The numbers frame the expansion:

• 60 stores operated by Kujten outside the U.S.
• Around 10 percent of total revenues currently generated in the U.S., split between direct-to-consumer and wholesale
• Three new U.S. stores opening within roughly four months (late October through February)

"We want to double or triple that number in the next couple of years," Benaroya said of the U.S. revenue share.

The self-funded brand is evaluating Boston and Chicago in the near term, with Los Angeles under consideration further out. The expansion carries no outside investor, meaning lease commitments, fit-outs and inventory for the three new units rest on the company's own balance sheet.

Who is behind the brand?

Benaroya and Eriksson met as teenagers at school. Benaroya built a finance career, starting at Goldman Sachs in London, while Eriksson studied fashion and joined British label Joseph. They reconnected in their 30s to build a high-end brand focused on basic and statement cashmere pieces in a wide color range, named after Mongolia's highest peak — a region the founders visit several times a year to hand-select raw materials.

If the SoHo and Aspen units hit the trading levels of Madison Avenue, Kujten's stated target of lifting the U.S. to 20 or 30 percent of revenues will depend on how quickly Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles follow.