The latest Skims valuation is $5 billion, set in November 2025 when Goldman Sachs Alternatives led a $225 million round, Fortune reported. The company was six years old at the time. Its path there shows how a celebrity-fronted brand can turn an audience into a business with institutional investors, and where the hard work starts once the launch buzz fades.
Who founded Skims?
Skims was started in 2019 by Kim Kardashian and Jens Grede, whom its own releases name as co-founders; Grede is the CEO. Emma Grede, who is married to Jens, holds the title of founding partner, and Forbes describes her as Skims’ chief product officer. The split matters for founders: Kardashian supplies the audience and creative direction, while the Gredes, according to Forbes, also invest in and help run other fashion businesses, including the denim label Frame. Forbes says the vast majority of Kardashian’s fortune is her Skims stake, and that Skims accounts for three-fourths of Emma Grede’s.
Skims valuation by funding round
Skims has raised money several times, and each round set a new price. A valuation is the value placed on the whole company by the price investors pay for new shares; it is not revenue or cash on hand.
| Date | Valuation | Round (per Fortune) |
|---|---|---|
| January 2022 | $3.2 billion | Not detailed |
| July 2023 | $4 billion | $270 million, Wellington-led |
| November 2025 | $5 billion | $225 million, Goldman-led |
Because Skims is private, these reported rounds are the main outside price points. Nobody outside the company and its investors knows the terms attached to each round, such as investor protections that can matter as much as the headline price. For founders, the lesson is that later rounds are priced on growth still to come, so the plan for the money matters as much as the number. Skims tied its 2025 raise to stores and international expansion, Retail Gazette reported.
How Skims makes money
Skims sells its own products through three channels: its website, partner retailers and, increasingly, its own stores. Its 2023 NBA release listed retail partners including Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue and Selfridges. The range began with shapewear in sizes “from XXS to 5XL,” Fortune noted, before adding loungewear, swimwear and menswear.
The reported sales history is strong but not fully consistent, so it is shown as reported:
| Year | Reported sales |
|---|---|
| 2020 | About $145 million (Fortune) |
| 2022 | $500 million (Fortune) |
| 2023 | About $750 million, or nearly $713 million in net sales (both Fortune) |
| 2025 | Expected to exceed $1bn (Retail Gazette) |
Fortune’s article gives both 2023 numbers without reconciling them. Fortune also disclosed that it used generative AI to help draft that story, with an editor checking it. Fortune reported Skims turned profitable in 2023.
The partnerships that widened the brand
Skims has used league and brand deals to reach shoppers who would not follow a reality-TV star. In October 2023 the NBA, the WNBA and USA Basketball signed Skims as their underwear sponsor in a multiyear deal that also brought on-court virtual signage during national broadcasts, according to the release. In February 2025, Skims and Nike announced NikeSKIMS, a women’s activewear line. And in March 2025, Skims bought SKKN by Kim from Kardashian and Coty, with plans “to start launching in 2026” in beauty and fragrance. Jens Grede framed the purchase as being “about the strength of our brand and our ability to enter a new category with authority.”
Marketing: the celebrity is not the only face
Kardashian is the brand’s best-known model, but Skims also markets through other famous names. Retail Gazette reported the company “continues to leverage a powerful roster of influencers, including Kardashian, Megan Fox and Paris Hilton.” Spreading the brand across several faces reduces the risk that one person’s public image defines it.
From online brand to store chain
The 2025 money is earmarked for physical retail and international growth, the company said. Fortune reported that the first permanent store opened in Georgetown in 2024, followed by Miami, Austin and a Fifth Avenue flagship, with plans to reach 22 U.S. locations by the end of 2025. Retail Gazette counted 18 standalone U.S. stores in November 2025, and Forbes’s profile of Kardashian, last updated in June 2026, put the total at 20 stores in the U.S. and Mexico. The counts differ by date and by how outlets define a store, so use the dated figure. Forbes says the plan is to become a mainly brick-and-mortar business.
What went right, and the open risks
- Right: a clear product promise (fit and size range), owned channels (its website and stores), and partnerships that made the brand bigger than one celebrity. Fortune reported that nearly 70% of customers are millennials or Gen Z.
- Open risk: stores are expensive to open and run, and a business valued on growth needs that growth to continue. With no published accounts, outsiders cannot test Skims’ margins.
- Open risk: beauty is a new category for Skims, and the family’s earlier beauty brands were run in partnership with Coty, as our story on the Kylie Cosmetics Coty deal shows.
Founder lessons from Skims
Pair reach with operators. Kardashian’s audience opened the door, and a dedicated CEO in Jens Grede ran the company day to day. Keep the brand’s promise narrow at first; shapewear in a wide size range came before swimwear, menswear or beauty. And raise money for a specific use: the 2025 round was tied to stores and international growth, which gave investors a concrete plan. Emma Grede’s earlier brand, built on the same inclusive-sizing idea, is covered in the Good American founder story.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Skims’ valuation?
Skims was valued at $5 billion in November 2025, when it raised $225 million in a round led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives, according to Fortune.
Who founded Skims?
Skims’ press releases name Kim Kardashian and Jens Grede as co-founders; Grede is CEO. Emma Grede is described by Forbes as founding partner and chief product officer.
How much revenue does Skims make?
Skims does not publish full financial statements. Fortune reported about $750 million in 2023 sales, and Retail Gazette reported that the company expected 2025 sales to exceed $1bn.
Is Skims profitable?
Fortune reported that Skims became profitable in 2023. The company has not published later profit figures.
Is Skims public?
No. Skims is privately held, so its valuation comes from funding rounds rather than a stock price.
Sources
- Kim Kardashian’s Skims is now worth $5 billion after a massive $225 million funding round led by Goldman Sachs — Fortune, November 12, 2025
- Skims hits $5bn valuation after major funding round — Retail Gazette, November 2025
- SKIMS Acquires SKKN BY KIM from Kim Kardashian and Coty — SKIMS via PR Newswire, March 24, 2025
- SKIMS Named Official Underwear Partner of the NBA, WNBA and USA Basketball — SKIMS via PR Newswire, October 30, 2023
- Kim Kardashian profile — Forbes, June 3, 2026 (last updated)
- Emma Grede profile — Forbes, June 3, 2025 (last updated)
- NFL Announces Collaboration With Kristin Juszczyk, Emma Grede and Fanatics to Launch Apparel Brand ‘Off Season’ — PR Newswire, January 7, 2025
This article is general information for founders and is not accounting, legal or investment advice. Net worth figures are estimates published by the outlets named, on the dates shown. They are not disclosed by the people profiled, they move with markets and private valuations, and different publications reach different numbers. Found Founders is not affiliated with anyone profiled here.