Can Skims Revive Kim Kardashian’s Beauty Business?
Third time’s a charm — but also a challenge.
As Kim Kardashian regains control of her beauty business, industry insiders are weighing in on what it will take for the multimedia mogul to find long-term success in the category after years of fits and starts.
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Executives, insiders and sources agree that the move to consolidate her businesses is a smart one. Ashley Helgans, an analyst at Jefferies, said the deal makes sense not just for Kardashian, but for Skims. “Given Skims is reportedly considering going public, bringing all the Kim Kardashian brands under one umbrella is a logical step,” she said.
As reported, in March, Kardashian regained full control of Skkn by Kim, with her shapewear and apparel company Skims acquiring Coty’s 20 percent stake, while Kardashian’s 80 percent stake was also transferred to Skims, the company she founded with Jens and Emma Grede.
Still, most say it’ll take more than new ownership to give any potential beauty business the same market longevity and dominance as its shapewear-oriented, marketing-powered parent.
As a refresher, Kardashian launched KKW Beauty in 2017 with the Crème Contour and Highlight Kit, which quickly sold out, and later introduced KKW Fragrance with a trio of crystal-themed fragrances. After Coty took a 20 percent stake in Kardashian’s beauty interests in 2022 for $200 million, she shuttered both brands and returned with Skkn by Kim, a $630, nine-step skin care system. In January 2024, the brand dove back into color cosmetics, with a collection of lip liners, lipsticks and an eye shadow palette. Neither initiative seemed to have the success of the earlier offerings, and in between, both parties were relatively quiet on the brand — until the sale in March.
As for what went wrong, one source told WWD that Kardashian, who boasts 357 million Instagram followers, didn’t get enough marketing support from Coty, positing that Skkn by Kim was under-resourced during its time with Coty.
Another source said that while Kardashian had ideas to drive the business, Coty was unable to provide the needed resources, due both to its debt load and the strategic decision to focus on long-term licensees like Gucci and Burberry and the rejuvenation of the mass market business, CoverGirl.
A rep for Coty did not respond to request for comment.
Kardashian, meanwhile, is understood to have been more focused on Skims, and not without good reason. Skims reached a $4 billion valuation in 2023 after hitting $500 million in revenue the year prior. Conversely, Skkn by Kim is rumored to be around $20 million in sales, and never scaled into retail.
While the brand struggled to gain traction under Coty’s guidance, many believe that Kardashian’s beauty business still has legs, especially under the Skims umbrella.
For one, despite the marketing spend and not much happening with the brand, CreatorIQ’s data showed Skkn by Kim has seen pretty strong engagement over the past year, with a total EMV of $19 million, up 33 percent. While Skims’ EMV is much higher at $290.4 million, it’s down 23 percent.
“While Skims is operating on a much larger scale — roughly 18x the creators and 13x the posts — Skkn by Kim is clearly displaying the greatest momentum out of these three brands (including KKW), a particularly impressive feat given that Skkn by Kim’s creator count contracted by 4 percent year-over-year,” said Alex Rawitz, director of research and insights at Creator IQ. “However, Skkn by Kim has succeeded by finding highly engaged creators who post about the brand more frequently.”
Kardashian’s beauty business could benefit from Skim’s savvy marketing machine that has seen her tap a range of celebrities who are of the moment. Think Patrick Schwarzenegger, Neymar Jr., Rosé, Charli XCX and Sabrina Carpenter.
“What Kim has done really well is create a very cohesive aesthetic. And so it could be consumers that want the aesthetic more than what the product is purporting in terms of efficacy,” said a source.
“She has a great opportunity to be successful in beauty,” another source said. “You just need the right packaging, the right product, the right pricing, the right distribution strategy. They have beautiful stores. But I also think they can do something with a retail partner, who can do it exclusively.”
Allison Collins, cofounder of The Consumer Collective, was more skeptical. “The Skims marketing machine should help — it’s powerful and there are some good strategic thinkers in there. It’s not exclusively about plastering Kim’s face on everything,” she said. “However, Skims filled a white space in the market, and Kim’s beauty line does not do that. There are tons of celebrity beauty lines and most of them aren’t very good or interesting.”
Collins also pointed to the steep price and pressure on consumer spend as potential obstacles. “The context for making it work is very tough,” she said.
Although it doesn’t have tangible commonalities with shapewear, going back into fragrance may be Kardashian’s best bet as that category gains steam across price points — including with her own family members. Kylie Jenner’s Kylie Cosmetics (still majority-owned by Coty) is understood to have had success with its fragrances Cosmic Kylie Jenner Eau De Parfum and Cosmic 2.0.
Her other sister, Khloé Kardashian, launched her first fragrance called XO Khloé last year in partnership with Luxe Brands.
By contrast, luxury prices are challenged in skin care, and a $600-plus skin care regimen goes against the prevailing consumer trend of trading down within the market. If Kardashian went in at a lower price point but still in prestige, there’s more opportunity, say analysts.
According to Circana, in 2024, the mass market saw higher-priced skin products grow, while consumers traded down in the prestige channel. “The dynamic of skin care softening is more pronounced in the prestige market,” said Larissa Jensen, senior vice president of beauty and industry adviser, Circana. “What’s doing well in the prestige market are value-priced brands. These are brands that are typically under $30.”
While there is still demand for lip products, which could be a good play for Skims, there is much competition in the market from the likes of Summer Fridays and Rhode among others.
The makeup category is performing better in prestige than in mass, contrary to skin care. To win there, Kardashian would have to evolve beyond the heavy contouring of the 2010s she helped make famous, and dip her toes into the softer contouring trend favored by consumers in 2025.
“She’s known for her contour, beautiful makeup. It’s been her look for a long time now. So she’s going to go with foundation, lipstick. One angle could be interesting is shapewear makeup for contouring,” said an industry source.
As for the financial potential of the brand, sources said it has the potential to generate around $300 million in sales, depending on the category — and the marketing strategy, of course.
“It’s a tall task, but Skkn by Kim’s growth shows that a Kardashian brand can still succeed in the beauty space,” said Rawitz.
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