Business
Skims valued at $5 billion after new funding round as it accelerates store expansion
Skims underwear is displayed on a shelf at a Nordstrom store on March 25, 2025 in Corte Madera, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
Kim Kardashian’s Skims brand has raised $225 million in new funding led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives, valuing the shapewear and apparel company at $5 billion — up from roughly $4 billion after its 2023 round.
The deal comes as Skims nears $1 billion in annual net sales, six years after its 2019 launch, and marks one of the largest private raises for a U.S. consumer brand this year. BDT & MSD Partners’ affiliated funds also joined the round, Skims said Wednesday.
Skims plans to use the new capital to accelerate brick-and-mortar and international expansion, as well as product innovation and category diversification. The company has 18 stores across the U.S. in cities including New York, Los Angeles, Austin and Atlanta and one in Mexico, with plans to open additional stores overseas in 2026.
Skims said it’s laying the groundwork to become a “predominantly physical business” in the coming years, a pivot for a company that built its reputation as a digital-first direct-to-consumer brand.
“This milestone reflects continued confidence in our long-term vision and coupled with disciplined execution, positions Skims to unlock its next phase of growth,” CEO and co-founder Jens Grede said in a statement.
The new funding follows the debut of NikeSkims, a partnership with Nike that launched earlier this year and sold out within hours. The collaboration signals Skims’ ambitions to scale beyond its core shapewear products and into activewear, apparel and performance categories, pushing the brand further into the mainstream athleticwear market dominated by Lululemon, a handful of upstarts and Nike itself.
The new capital infusion could further delay an IPO from Skims. The company has been eyeing a public debut since at least 2024, based on statements by Grede.
The consumer IPO market has been largely stagnant in 2024 and 2025, with few fashion or beauty brands debuting as investors turn cautious on discretionary retail. By raising new private funding, Skims can continue to scale without immediate pressure to list.
“Skims stands as a solutions-driven apparel innovator, pioneering new categories and redefining everyday wear,” said Beat Cabiallavetta, global head of hybrid capital at Goldman Sachs Alternatives. “We look forward to partnering with management to pursue significant opportunities and deliver disruptive, sustained growth.”
Since its launch, Skims has built a cult following with its inclusive sizing, minimalist aesthetic and high-profile campaigns featuring global athletes and celebrities. Kardashian, who serves as chief creative officer, said the new funding marks “an exciting new chapter” for the company.
“We can’t wait to take Skims to the next level as we continue to innovate and set the standard for our industry,” Kardashian said.
Business
Nike shares fall 9% on weak outlook, expected 20% sales decline in China
A Nike logo is displayed at a Nike store in Austin, Texas, Feb. 5, 2026.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images
Shares of Nike fell in extended trading Tuesday after the retailer warned sales will fall for the rest of the calendar year, led by an expected 20% decline in its key China market during the current quarter.
Chief Financial Officer Matt Friend said during the company’s earnings call that Nike expects sales for its current fiscal fourth quarter to drop between 2% and 4%, compared with Wall Street estimates of a 1.9% increase, according to LSEG.
For the duration of the calendar year, Friend said, the company expects sales to fall by a low single-digit percentage, led by growth in North America and offset by declines in China. That outlook wasn’t comparable to estimates.
Nike beat expectations across the business on both the top and bottom lines for its fiscal third quarter, but its guidance left investors with more questions about how long its turnaround will take. Friend also cautioned that Nike’s guidance was based off of where the global economic picture stands today — and it could change given recent geopolitical volatility.
“We also recognize that the environment around us has become increasingly dynamic, and we could experience unplanned volatility due to the disruption in the Middle East, rising oil prices and other factors that could impact either input costs or consumer behavior,” said Friend. “We are focused on what we can control.”
Shares fell more than 8% in extended trading.
Here’s how the world’s largest sneaker company did for its fiscal third quarter, compared with estimates from analysts polled by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: 35 cents vs. 28 cents expected
- Revenue: $11.28 billion vs. $11.24 billion expected
The company’s reported net income for the three-month period that ended Feb. 28 was $520 million, or 35 cents per share. That’s a 35% decline from $794 million, or 54 cents per share, a year earlier. That plunge came as Nike’s gross profit margin slid 1.3 percentage points to 40.2%, “primarily due to higher tariffs in North America,” the company said.
Sales were flat at $11.28 billion, compared to $11.27 billion last year.
While Nike beat expectations on the top and bottom lines, it posted a mixed picture regionally. Nike’s largest market of North America continued to show steady growth, as revenue climbed 3% to $5.03 billion, but that was just shy of Wall Street’s expectations of $5.04 billion, according to StreetAccount.
Meanwhile, Nike’s Greater China market continued to shrink, with revenue down 7% to $1.62 billion during the quarter. Still, that total beat analyst estimates of $1.50 billion, according to StreetAccount.
Nike is continuing to work through a colossal turnaround under CEO Elliott Hill. About a year and a half into his tenure, Hill has made strides in repairing parts of the business, but has been clear that it’ll take time for the entire company to improve given the retailer’s scale and complexity.
He reiterated that expectation on Tuesday, saying in a news release that “the pace of progress is different across the portfolio.”
“The areas we prioritized first continue to drive momentum,” Hill said. “The work is not finished, but the direction is clear, our teams are moving with focus and urgency, and our foundation is getting even stronger to build the future of NIKE.”
Friend said Nike’s turnaround efforts “will continue to impact results over the balance of the calendar year.”
Nike’s recovery was already coming at a tough time as a global trade war dented its efforts to improve profitability and drive sales from inflation-weary shoppers. But now the athletic company will have to contend with a new war in the Middle East that’s already led to rising gas prices and is expected to send consumer prices even higher, which could push shoppers to cut back on nice-to-haves like new clothes and shoes to save money elsewhere.
“We continue to be encouraged by the momentum in North America. We’ve got a strong order book for summer,” Friend said. “We’re seeing positive signs and sell through. We’re not seeing a consumer reaction to what’s going on in the Middle East at this point in time, in North America.”
Hill has focused in part on revitalizing Nike’s business with wholesale partners as opposed to direct sales on its website and in stores. Wholesale revenue climbed 5% to $6.5 billion.
Meanwhile, direct sales slid 4% to $4.5 billion.
Business
Tech giant Oracle makes ‘significant’ job cuts
It is thought that thousands of people may have lost their jobs at Oracle, one of the world’s largest tech companies.
Source link
Business
Oil nears highest price since start of Iran war
The US-Israel Iran war has halted almost all traffic in a key waterway and the price Brent crude has surged.
Source link
-
Politics1 week agoAfghanistan announces release of detained US citizen
-
Sports1 week agoBroadcast industry CEO says consolidation is ‘essential’ to compete for NFL soaring media rights prices
-
Entertainment1 week agoUN warns migratory freshwater fish numbers are spiralling
-
Tech1 week agoCan a Home Appliance Fix the Problem of Soft-Plastic Waste?
-
Business1 week agoProperty Play: Home flippers see smallest profits since the Great Recession, real estate data firm says
-
Business1 week agoGold prices soar in Pakistan – SUCH TV
-
Fashion1 week agoICE cotton slips on weaker crude, profit booking
-
Business1 week agoMore women are entering wealth management, but few are in advisory roles, study finds
