Founded by Kim Kardashian, Skims is one of the most successful e-commerce first shapewear brands to date. It racked up a two million-strong wait list and sold over four million units in its first year with a customer retention rate of 30%.
A big part of the brand’s success is its inclusive sizing and colour ranges that come in nude shades to match any skin tone. Additionally, they also make use of older models to create an inclusive feel for their products.
1. Inclusive sizing
Kim Kardashian’s shapewear brand Skims is known for its inclusive sizing, innovative styles, accessible pricing and diverse shades. These benefits have helped make it one of the fastest-growing brands in the industry.
Inclusive sizing is not a new concept in the fashion world, but Skims’s size range is much broader than many other brands. It offers merchandise in sizes ranging from XXS to 4X.
This is a huge departure from many other brands that charge more for apparel for women wearing larger sizes. It’s also a huge win for body positivity, since women of all shapes and sizes can shop in the same section of the store.
Skims has also tapped into the power of influencers and high profile models to sell its products. Social media stars like TikTok star Addison Rae and Kate Moss have helped promote the brand.
2. Older models
While millennials have been lauded as the new lions share of the fashion industry’s wallet share of the population, the old guard still has its fair share of affluent shoppers. The name of the game has been a close call between millennials and baby boomers for years now, so it is no surprise that the brand has to do its part to keep up with the competition. For one, skims has retooled its supply chain to keep up with the demands of a growing customer base. It has also introduced the fancy pixies to its grooming staff and is about to launch a new label to the public.
3. Savvy marketing
Savvy marketing is a term used to describe the ability to identify and take advantage of opportunities that an average business person would not. This includes understanding the latest marketing strategies and growth methods that place your company ahead of the curve.
Skims benefits uses a variety of savvy marketing tactics to increase brand awareness. One of the most popular is using social media influencers to promote their products.
This strategy can be very effective when the right people are involved in creating content for your brand. These can be influencers, bloggers, and other high profile people who can reach a large audience and make your product or service look good. Moreover, it can be done in an organic way without costing a fortune.
4. Drop model
Kim Kardashian and her sisters’ SKIMS brand operates on a drop model, dropping new collections weekly. Skims drops typically contain between 20,000 to 200,000 units, and demand is high as the products sell out fast.
The drop model is a powerful sales delivery method that can also be used to build hype and cultivate community. It puts customers into nurture flows, boosts brand affinity and reputation, and shifts from discount-based scarcity into product-based scarcity.
The anticipation psychology that builds around product drops explains why 67% of consumers report increased brand affinity after they experience a drop. It also explains why fans are willing to wait in line, and why they’re so excited when they get their hands on a product. These benefits flow back to your core product lines, elevating your entire brand awareness and affinity.
5. In-store experience
Skims benefits from being a solution-oriented brand, creating products for a broad range of skin tones and sizes. This makes them a perfect candidate for a retail presence because they know what customers want in a modern shopping experience: inclusivity, product innovation, and a range of options. They also understand that trying on the products in-store is 3X more influential than any other factor when it comes to purchasing a new pair of underwear, pajamas, t-shirts, or gowns.
Opening a physical store is a long-term play and requires fundamentals like merchandising, marketing, staffing, and upkeep. Taking a platform approach means they’ll get all of that in-market support and can scale at a faster pace than if they tried to build it up on their own.