Kim Kardashian is a name most people have heard at least once. Known for her luxurious lifestyle and figure, her fame perfectly set up her shapewear brand Skims for massive success. Considering she is a celebrity, Kim has dipped into many business partnerships, but none stuck like Skims. The major success of Skims is due overwhelmingly to how well-fitted the clothing brand is, and not just because it is shapewear. Skims is tailored to the image of Kim Kardashian.
Skims is so closely connected to Kim’s overall public image of being dressed classy and having a curvy figure desired by many women in America. Now running the shapewear game and dominating in sales making over $1 billion in 2023, Skims is expected to make even more by the conclusion of 2024.
The success of Skims today can be explained by how perfect Kim Kardashian is for the face of this brand, the clever marketing techniques used behind the scenes, and the successful expansion of the brand’s offerings. These genius marketing moves Kim Kardashian made in The Skims are a lesson that should be studied by anyone looking to create a startup or grow as an entrepreneur.
Kim Kardashian and the brand
With Kim as the face for Skims, the audience can see how flattering and fitting the products could be. Having Kim as the face allows the audience to picture how Skims products may look on them, building their confidence and excitement for the product and what it can do for them.
Kim is not the only face this brand has. When the company began seeing major success upon launch in 2018, other celebrities and big names in the pop culture world began endorsing and modeling for Skims.
Some of these famous people are Kate Moss, Usher, SZA, Lana Del Rey, Sabrina Carpenter, Jude Bellingham, and even Team USA as a part of a new line featuring Olympians such as Sunisa Lee and Caeleb Dressel.
These are all celebrities who do not always have the clearest attachment to shapewear as Kim Kardashian does. However, the timing of these big names collaborating and promoting products by Skims is a huge factor in the success of the brand.
The timing technique
Timing is everything in marketing most importantly when social media is a factor. Skims does an incredible job of lining up collaborations with big events gaining traction amongst online audiences. For example, Alex Cooper, host of the popular podcast “Call Her Daddy,” has a large and dedicated fan base of teenage girls and young adult girls placing her as the perfect candidate for a Skim’s partnership.
Another example of how Skims uses timing and social media is with Team USA. With the 2024 Paris Olympics already captivating the eyes of many around the world, a Skims collaboration is the brand tying itself to that trendy train ride of publicity and online attention.
Online marketplace
It may be hard to believe that the majority of Skims’ sales are online when most other retail brands have found great success with in-person locations. However, over 70% of Skims’ audience is Gen-Z and Millenials making their online marketplace approach very fruitful when it comes to sales.
This ties back to the previous discussion about Kim Kardashian and the other celebrities that endorse Skims as it shows people the consumer’s trust and love to garner those same feelings for Skims without going into a dressing room and trying on the clothes in person.
The product itself
Regardless of how big Kim Kardashians’ reputation is, and how big Skims has become, the product holds up to the expectations. The shapewear guarantees a flattering, slimming effect that accentuates curves and one’s body. It generates thousands of positive reviews and feedback on TikTok, Instagram, and X. The products produced by Kim are not only great quality, but they have a large range of skin tones and sizes to fit almost anybody.
Having a wide range of representation opens up the door for positivity and inclusivity within a brand We have seen success like this as well within the makeup world with a popular brand by Rhiana, Fenty Beauty. Fenty Beauty provides a large range of foundations and makeup products suitable to skin tones that have not always been represented in the makeup world which makes for large success and staples Fenty as an inclusive brand that sees the needs of their consumers.
Fruitful future
Skims is a smart and successful brand that has almost everything going for it from a marketing standpoint. A great product, a large team of collaborators, and a face that represented what the brand is promising. It almost guarantees success as long as the business maintains its image and promises to the audience when providing its products.
As of today, Skims is still expanding its reach creating more options for men, clothing for more body types, and new designs that are already sparking interest on social media.
Takeaways
When creating your brand or business, it is important to look at success stories such as Kim’s. Kim Kardashian is not a perfect person and has been through many controversial events publicly. However, regardless of those situations, she was able to persevere and make a brand as successful as Skims with help of course.
When you are first starting, mistakes will be made. Things will not be perfect and it is a lot more difficult for any normal person to start a business than it was for Kim. Regardless, there are still lessons to be learned from her success. Push through challenges you have professionally and acceptably. Adapt to your changing clientele and cater your service or product to them while still maintaining your brand’s authenticity
