Could SKIMS, co-founded by Kim Kardashian and Emma Grede, rival the Jordan brand?

Founded in 2019, SKIMS is a brand specializing in underwear, loungewear, and shapewear designed for every body type. Its business footprint has grown to include successful brick-and-mortar locations in Georgetown, D.C.; Aventura, FL; Austin, TX; Houston, TX; Atlanta, GA; and New York, NY. The company also boasts a $4 billion valuation.

Grede, also CEO and co-founder of Good American, another Kardashian family business, attributes its success—not just the $270 million raised in 2023 or the partnership with The North Face—to more than Kim’s celebrity status.

“Talent can bring you to a product once, but you don’t come back time and time again,” Grede said in an interview with The Guardian. “You have got to be offering superior product at a price and value people really understand. If it were easy, every celebrity would have a billion-dollar brand.”

SKIMS will now be making its way into Nike stores within its own entity brand, NikeSKIMS. According to Business Insider, Nike had not previously partnered with an existing external company.

NikeSKIMS will launch apparel, footwear, and accessory products online, in select stores, and globally in 2026.

“Nike and SKIMS share a deep commitment to innovation, inclusivity, and pushing boundaries, driven by an unwavering belief in the power of women,” Kim said in a news release.

Heidi O’Neill, president of consumer, product & brand, Nike, Inc., commented: “We’re energized by the opportunity to build a new brand and shake things up for the next generation of athletes with NikeSKIMS. This partnership brings together the best of both brands and unlocks an incredible opportunity to disrupt the industry with our shared passion and commitment to innovation. We will invite even more athletes into sport and movement with product that makes them feel strong and sexy.”

How will NikeSKIMS compete, within Nike’s portfolio, which also includes the Jordan Brand? At the surface level, any success for NikeSKIMS could be seen as a win overall. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, the Jordan Brand was born from a partnership between Nike and six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan on Oct. 26, 1984. Their first shoe collaboration launched in 1985 with an expected revenue of $3 million but far surpassed predictions, bringing in $126 million.

Its continued success led to the official formation of the Jordan Brand in 1997, expanding into footwear and apparel. As of January 2024, it was Nike’s best-selling division, generating nearly $7 billion annually — accounting for 17% of Nike’s total wholesale equivalent sales.

While it remains unclear how NikeSKIMS will compare, the brand has already established itself as a powerhouse in its sector and is now poised to expand its customer base. According to Complex Network leads, it could potentially cut into the market share of companies such as Lululemon.

Notably, SKIMS has direct ties to Ye (formerly known as Kanye West), Kim’s ex-husband. He is a co-founder of the company and has grown his own footprint in the footwear and apparel industry. His partnership with Adidas strengthened his billionaire status at the time. The company has severed its ties with Ye, but at one point, the partnership earned nearly $2 billion annually, which was 10% of its revenue, according to The Washington Post.

General Manager (Sole Collector) at Complex Network Brendan Dunne believes NikeSKIMS could achieve similar success as an apparel line to Yeezy.

“NikeSKIMS, whatever footwear they come out with, is never going to touch Yeezy Footwear, but I think NikeSKIMS as an apparel line could get close total to what Yeezy Adidas as a footwear line. I don’t think that’s totally unreasonable,” said Dunne via “The Complex Sneakers Show.”