Skims opens shop inside Saks Fifth Avenue’s New York flagship

Dive Brief:

Expanding its wholesale business further, Skims has launched at Saks Fifth Avenue’s New York flagship and on Saks.com, according to a press release sent to Retail Dive.
The dedicated, specially designed fifth floor space for Skims at Saks showcases the brand’s assortment of body positive collections including Fits Everybody, Seamless Sculpt and Cotton alongside its Soft Lounge and Boyfriend styles.
In addition to the New York flagship, Skims plans to be in more Saks doors by the end of this quarter, including stores in Houston, Boston and Bal Harbour, Florida.

Dive Insight:

In coordination with Willo Perron of Perron-Roettinger, Skims designed the fifth floor space at Saks that features rounded-edged fixtures, inclusive mannequins and a shapewear wall.

Greeting shoppers to the store’s main floor atrium is a visual installation designed by Skims with digital screens displaying a campaign of models wearing Seamless Sculpt shapewear walking across New York City's streets. The campaign was shot and directed by artist Vanessa Beecroft.

Launched as a DTC brand in 2019 by Kim Kardashian and Jens Grede, Skims has built a consumer audience both online and through a mix of upscale retail partnerships that include Nordstrom, Selfridges, SSENSE, Net-a-Porter, Lane Crawford, Holt Renfrew, David Jones and Saks Fifth Avenue.

Wholesale continues to grow for Skims as it seeks new customers in a sector that is on the rise. The global shapewear and compression wear market is expected to reach $6.95 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 7.7%, according to Allied Market Research.

Earlier this year Skims was named one of the fastest-growing apparel and accessories brands according to a report by Similarweb. Its website traffic increased 157% in 2022, per the report.

As part of Skims’ strategy to increase its retail business, the company is building out its management team to oversee those partnerships. It recently brought in Moncler retail veteran Robert Norton as its chief commercial officer.

"Launching at Saks Fifth Avenue is an exciting move into expanding Skims’ curated retail partnerships,” Grede, CEO of Skims, said in a statement. “Saks is an iconic fashion institution and I’m thrilled Skims will be now available to its customers."