Beyond television screens and social media, individuals within the greater Kardashian/Jenner family have inserted themselves into multiple ventures over the years that have influenced many different industries.
Take Kendall Jenner’s 818 Tequila, or her sister Kylie’s ventures into makeup, skincare and swimwear.
Related: Puma is partnering with an unusual icon for its Formula 1 campaign
The underwear brand started by the most well-known of the bunch, Kim Kardashian’s Skims has enjoyed some success, as customers looked beyond the figurehead and flocked to buy its “solution-oriented” sculpting shapewear, as well as simple, minimally designed loungewear pieces such as bras, underwear, swimwear and sleepwear in a variety of neutral colors and a vast array of sizes.
Though the brand is seeing some relative success at the moment, it is ready to make some moves to compete against rivals in the space.
Skims' new move
View the original article to see embedded media.
In a statement, Skims announced that it will be releasing a line of men’s items on Thursday, October 26. Like its women’s counterpart, the Skims for men are meant to fit those beyond the athletic, well-toned bodies of Nick Bosa, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Neymar Jr. on the ads on social media, as they will offer their pieces in sizes up to 5X.
Kim Kardashian told GQ that her brand “never had a bigger request than to launch men’s,” noting that it already had male customers who’d “hear their girlfriends or their wives or loved ones talking about Skims.”
Skims CEO Jens Grede, who previously helped launch the men’s outpost Mr. Porter of high-end e-retailer Net-A-Porter, also told GQ that the data already had a considerable male skew.
“Twenty percent of our traffic, and 10% of our customers, are already men,” Grede says. “That means we’ve had 50 million men coming to the site over the last few months.”
Items in the new line will run from $16 to $54 and will come in three fabric-centric collections; Cotton, Stretch and Sport, each with a range of underwear, t-shirts and socks.
The announcement of Skims’ men's line comes after the brand’s was recently valued at $4 billion. Wellington Management led Skims’ latest fundraising round of $270 million this past July, while the company recently welcomed former Jordan Brand executive Andy Muir as its Chief Financial Officer.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Grede said that Skims is projected to reach $750 million in net sales by the end of 2023, and teased at the idea of an initial public offering.
“I believe Skims deserves to be a public company when the time is right,” Grede told WSJ.
More Retail:
- ‘Too pretty’ Home Depot worker faces backlash after viral mirror post
- A classic kitchenware brand files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
- Who’s running The Gap? With no CEO, retailer hurtles towards crisis
Skims' competition is tough
Skims is not the only athletic or shapewear brand pushing a greater emphasis on menswear.
Canadian yoga-wear giant and suburban mom staple Lululemon (LULU) -) recently began advertising its men’s ABC pants squarely at a male audience with commercials featuring NHL legend Wayne Gretzky and YouTube superstar and filmmaker Casey Neistat.
Get investment guidance from trusted portfolio managers without the management fees. Sign up for Action Alerts PLUS now.
