Kim Kardashian's Skims underwear brand has doubled its valuation to $3.2 billion in the past nine months after investors injected funds into the emerging brand expected to capture significant market share. According to Skims CEO Jens Grede, the $240 million funding round was led by the hedge fund Lone Pine Capital and included investment firm D1 Capital Partners, with participation from existing investors Imaginary Ventures, Alliance Consumer Growth, and Thrive Capital, as reported by Bloomberg and reviewed by Al Arabiya.
This comes after the company was valued at $1.6 billion last April. Kardashian stated in an email, "This latest round will allow us to focus on bringing more innovations and solutions to our customers and become a more trusted source for them."
Kardashian and her business partner Grede retained a controlling stake in Skims after the funding round, with Kardashian remaining the largest individual shareholder in the company, promoting the brand to her vast online following and assisting in design and marketing. Grede mentioned that the partners are not looking to sell the company at this time and have no immediate plans for an IPO, although it may be considered at some point. Kardashian's brand increased its sales by 90% to about $275 million in 2020 and expects to reach $400 million in 2021.
