skims 8

full coverage shapewhere

Author

MacK Seale
June 09, 2025

mornin’ merry makers ☀️👙🩱💫🛍️

as a peak millennial, summer makes me think of victoria's secret.

specifically VS PINK & VS swim. the massive PINK shopping bags. the stuffed dogs. the glittery body spray. the angels. the fashion shows. the everything.

since reading "selling sexy" (shoutout to lauren sherman & chantal fernandez for that juicy retail exposé!), i've realized that my teenage roman empire has crumbled.

but here's the thing about retail: when one giant falls, another rises to fill the void.

enter skims.

with the fall of VS & the meteoric rise of the kardashians, skims is absolutely crushing it. somehow they're both replacing VS & carving out an entirely new shapewear category (though let's give sara blakely her flowers for doing a lot of that groundwork with spanx).

this june marks six years since kim k. launched & the growth has been nothing short of jaw-dropping. they've mastered function, aesthetic, branding, omnichannel strategy, & inclusivity in ways that make other brands look amateur.

so naturally, they're the perfect first feature in my 100 stores of summer series.

in today’s letter, you'll learn:

→ how their employee roster consists of many vs alumnus

→ a very interesting hiring qualification for all store employees that i’ve never seen on job descriptions before…

→ the 8 stores open now (plus 6 more coming soon!)

→ what roles they’re hiring for & what that says about their future

stories i’m watching

an overwhelming number of articles exist on what makes skims so brilliant. but here are a few very noteworthy stories i’m watching as they’ll directly impact what makes skims so brilliant:

  • jens grede as co-founder/ceo: serious operator credential bringing startup discipline & scaling expertise from FRAME denim. bonus points for being married to another retail powerhouse, emma grede, who’s behind good american with khloe kardashian.

  • product innovation: just look at the virality of long lounge slip dress, nipple & pierced nipple push-up bras, padded hips shapewear shorts, ribbed boxers, & bbl giving bodysuits.

  • victoria's secret alumni club: appears that several former VS employees work in both corporate & retail. most notably their creative director, kim schraub, who developed the VS PINK brand from concept to $1.5B business in 8 years. she also support yeezy.

  • nikeSKIMS partnerships: show they’re getting into performance and technical apparrel too. maybe even shoes?

  • beauty expansion: recently acquired skkn by kim from coty. plans to launch beauty in 2026.

  • hiring philosophy: specifically states in bold they hire store employees who DON'T want to be influencers on every job description… 🤔 

scroll stopping socials

their social strategy is crushing it.

  • 6.7M instagram followers (kim k: 356M for context)

  • 1.5M tiktok followers (kim k: 10.1M)

  • plus they know how to make their launches go viral & get sold out. they make their products feel essential, not just aspirational:

retail rollout

currently skims sells through ecommerce, wholesale, concessions, & standalone stores.

as of june, skims operates 8 locations (majority opened in the past 12 months). here they are from oldest to newst:

  1. domain northside in austin (nov ‘23 pop up to perm in aug ‘24)

  2. georgetown in dc (jun ‘24)

  3. aventura in miamai (jul ‘24)

  4. the galleria in houston (sep ‘24)

  5. lenox square in atlanta (sep ‘24)

  6. fifth avenue flagship in nyc (dec’ 24)

  7. sunset blvd flagship in la (apr ‘25)

  8. cabazon outlets in desert hills (apr ‘25)

want to learn more about these 8 locations? follow me on linkedin as i'll be highlighting one or two each day this upcoming week!

simultaneously, skims is opening concessions in even more bloomingdale's. if concessions is a new term for you, think of it less as wholesale and more as a pop-up or pop-in within a store. you can find them in the following bloomingales:

  • nyc: upper east side, soho, short hills, roosevelt field, white plains

  • la: century city & glendale

  • miami: aventura & mall at millenia

  • boston: chestnut hill

the consistent strategy here is opening in premium shopping destinations where their target customer already shops. smart.

plus they’re starting to establish liquidation channels with cabazon & woodbury commons (full list of upcoming nso’s below).

now hiring

if you want to be on this retail rocket ship, they’re hiring like crazy.

if you want to work in stores most have openings, plus these 6 new stores are looking for leadership teams:

if you want to support retail behind the scenes, they’re hiring for corporate in la with an emphasis on in office roles:

what's next?

skims is positioning itself as the new lifestyle authority that VS once was. with the nike partnership, beauty launching in 2026, & international expansion starting with london, they're building something that extends far beyond shapewear.

i hope skims gives us a new & improved VS angels fashion show too.

here are my predictions:

  • i expect aggressive expansion to 20 locations by end of 2025, including more outlets.

  • many of the concessions become standalone stores next year.

  • most store leaders will come from VS (3 of the 8 already do)

  • start their own annual fashion show or festival to reclaim what VS angels used to be in a way that’s more inclusive & politically correct. maybe with the ipo?

  • launch a sub-brand for teens a la VS PINK, maybe called skimlets?

  • more stuff for men & a headline making inappropriate mens product

  • skims goes public by end of 2026

buckle up, because this retail empire is taking shape fast.

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