The top internet celebrity secures financing with a valuation of 35 billion yuan.

This round of financing is unexpected.

Skims, the lingerie brand of American internet celebrity Kim Kardashian, announced the completion of a new round of financing of $225 million, with a valuation reaching $5 billion (approximately 35.5 billion yuan), led by the Alternative Investments division of Goldman Sachs.

As the world's top internet celebrity, Kardashian is also called "Sister Kim" by her fans for her straightforward personality and bold words. Born from a well - known internet celebrity, Skims has a natural ability to attract traffic. It has become popular worldwide in just six years since its establishment. In the Chinese market, a basic dress from Skims went viral on social platforms and was hailed as the "god - dress across the whole network".

This round of financing has once again put Skims in the spotlight. With a valuation of $5 billion, it has exceeded the combined market value of its competitors, Victoria's Secret and Under Armour, two listed companies. Quietly, what was once regarded as a side - project of a celebrity has become a force to be reckoned with.

The World's Strongest Internet Celebrity

Builds an Underwear Unicorn

Behind Skims is a global top - tier internet celebrity.

In 1980, Kim Kardashian was born into a family in Los Angeles that was always in the spotlight. Her father, Robert Kardashian, was a well - known lawyer in the "O.J. Simpson case", and her mother, Kris Jenner, was a Hollywood television producer. As the second daughter in the family, Kardashian grew up on the fringes of the celebrity world. She interned at her father's music company in high school and was exposed to the operation of the entertainment industry at an early age.

At the age of 25, she starred in her first movie. However, what truly changed her fate was the reality show "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" produced by her mother in 2007. The show presented the private lives of the Kardashian sisters in a dramatic way, attracting both controversy and a huge amount of traffic. With all the exposure, this world - class internet celebrity gradually stepped into the public view and started her business monetization journey.

In 2019, despite having hundreds of millions of fans, Kardashian still had trouble finding a well - fitting bodysuit. The existing products either had outdated designs or were too light in color, so she had to cut and dye them herself. From this, she realized there was a gap in the market. In 2019, her personal lingerie brand "Kimono Intimates" was launched, which was later renamed Skims due to cultural controversies.

With Kardashian's personal style, Skims' products highlight curves while emphasizing inclusivity for different body types. They offer up to 12 skin tones and a size range from XXS to 4XL, which hits the pain point of body anxiety among female consumers. Just two minutes after its launch, nearly 100,000 pieces were sold across the United States. The brand has gradually expanded to categories such as loungewear, swimwear, and men's clothing, with the price of single items ranging from about $50 to $200.

Moreover, Kardashian, who is well - versed in marketing, has given full play to the star effect and cross - circle interactions. Not only does she endorse the brand herself, but her star "friend circle" has also provided strong support. Well - known actress Megan Fox, singers Cardi B and Billie Eilish have all appeared in the brand's campaigns.

As early as 2021, Skims entered the Chinese market. At that time, Kardashian said that China was the first stop for Skims' globalization, and it would continue to expand in other Asian markets in the future. She personally selected more than 100 products for Chinese consumers.

After that, female stars and fashion bloggers such as Zhao Lusi, Yu Shuxin, and Yi Mengling made Skims' basic dress the "explosive god - dress across the whole network". For a while, there were more than 50,000 related notes on the social platform Xiaohongshu. Some people shouted, "You either buy Skims never or buy it countless times" and "Without a single piece of Skims ≈ your fashion sense is zero". Even domestic garment factories stayed up all night to make similar products.

The wealth effect has also emerged. On the Forbes 2024 list of the world's celebrity billionaires, Kim Kardashian ranked sixth with a net worth of $1.7 billion, outperforming Taylor Swift and Rihanna. With the latest round of financing of Skims finalized and its valuation reaching $5 billion, her personal wealth has soared to $1.9 billion.

Just Raised $1.5 Billion

Valued at 35 Billion Yuan

Throughout its development, Skims has had a large number of investors.

One of the more sensational events was in April 2021, when Skims received a new round of financing of $154 million. The investors were New York - based venture capital firms Thrive Capital, Imaginary Ventures, and Alliance Consumer Growth. In this round of financing, Skims' valuation soared to $1.6 billion, exceeding Rihanna's personal lingerie brand Savage x Fenty invested by LVMH, and it became a new unicorn.

In 2022, Skims raised $240 million in a financing round led by hedge fund Lone Pine Capital. Other investors included D1 Capital Partners, Thrive Capital, Imaginary Ventures, and Alliance Consumer Growth. At that time, Skims' valuation soared to $3.2 billion.

The financing didn't stop there. In July 2023, Skims completed another Pre - IPO round of financing of $270 million, and the company's valuation jumped to $4 billion. This round of financing was led by Wellington Management Group, with participation from Greenoaks Capital Partners and others.

At that time, there were reports that Skims was about to go public. It was said that Skims had hired a new chief financial officer and started the selection of investment banks, and it might go public as early as the first half of 2025. However, there has been no substantial progress since then.

The latest round of financing is from this month. Skims announced the completion of a new round of financing of $225 million, with a valuation of approximately $5 billion. It was led by the Alternative Investments division of Goldman Sachs, with participation from an affiliated fund of BDT&MSD Partners.

It should be noted that the market value of its competitor Victoria's Secret is $2.84 billion, and that of Under Armour is $1.77 billion. This means that Skims' valuation has exceeded the sum of the two.

The head of Alternative Investments at Goldman Sachs said, "Skims is a solution - oriented clothing innovator that has created new categories and redefined everyday wear. We look forward to working with the management team to seize significant opportunities and achieve disruptive and sustainable growth." Kardashian stated that in the future, she will lead Skims to new heights and make it a global omnichannel retail brand.

Monetizing Traffic

Celebrities Are Jumping into Entrepreneurship

Celebrities' side businesses are doing better than their main careers.

There are numerous such examples. In June this year, American makeup giant elf Beauty announced that it would acquire the beauty brand Rhode for $1 billion (approximately 7.2 billion yuan). Rhode is a personal brand founded by Hailey Bieber, the wife of singer Justin Bieber and a celebrity.

Rhode has only been established for three years. It became popular on the internet with a lipstick phone case and quickly became a phenomenon - level product of the year. It sold one million lipsticks in a year, with an annual net sales of over $200 million.

Even earlier, The Row, an American minimalist luxury brand, completed its first round of financing, with a valuation reaching $1 billion. The investors included Mousse Partners, an investment institution of the Wertheimer family, the controlling shareholders of the French luxury brand Chanel; and Téthys, an investment company under Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, the heir of the French beauty giant L'Oréal Group.

The Row is positioned as a luxury and minimalist brand. Its founders, Mary - Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen, are sisters. After achieving great popularity as child stars, they faded out of the screen and focused on the fashion industry. The Row also inherits the style of its founders and is known for its low - key luxury. A single piece of clothing can cost tens of thousands of yuan.

Of course, we can't forget the "queen of makeup and music", Rihanna. In 2005, at the age of 17, Rihanna became famous overnight with her hit single "Pon de Replay". Ten years later, Rihanna entered the business world and created makeup brand Fenty Beauty, skincare brand Fenty Skin, lingerie brand Savage X Fenty, and so on.

Back in China, "Jay Chou Concept Stock" MegaStar Legend is also a typical example. In July 2023, the company was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Its founding team includes Jay Chou's mother, Ye Huimei, his manager, Yang Junrong, and their long - term partners. It focuses on IP creation and operation and new retail, and owns well - known IPs such as "Brother Zhou" and "Coach Liu". Previously, when Jay Chou joined Douyin, the company's stock price soared by more than 160% in a single day.

There are many similar cases. Celebrities naturally have a huge amount of traffic and exposure, which allows them to quickly gather consumers and complete the cold start at a very low cost. It's like taking a shortcut compared to what other brands have to do over several years or even decades.

However, the celebrity bonus is not a panacea. Kardashian has launched three makeup brands in the past, all of which have eventually shut down. Countless celebrity co - branded products have been short - lived, which confirms a trend: A famous name alone is not enough to make second - rate products sell well.

The halo is just an admission ticket, but how far one can go in the end depends on the hard currency in the business world.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Investment World" (ID: pedaily2012), author: Wang Lu. It is published by 36Kr with authorization.