Just What Has Happened To The Uber Hyped Launch Of NikeSkims?
Kim Kardashian and Nike have bet big on NikeSkims (Photo by Edward Berthelot/GC Images)
For a brand that owns 'Just Do It', Nike Inc. has done little to allay market jitters with the conspicuous absence of any products for its uber-hyped NikeSkims launch.
In an era of global collaborations between retailers, brands and those stars that are emotionally engaged with their target audiences, few prospective partnerships have generated as much hype as NikeSkims, a joint venture between sportswear giant Nike and queen of the influencers Kim Kardashian and her shapewear business Skims.
They were supposed to be releasing their first collection this spring but the sportswear giant has reportedly had to push back the launch, despite bold promises made as recently as February that it was set to 'disrupt the global fitness and activewear industry with best-in-class innovation in service of all women athletes'.
Reports first raised by Bloomberg suggest that NikeSkims is wrestling with production delays as it prepares to debut the brand this year, on a now unspecified date, ahead of a global rollout planned for 2026.
Despite the delays, Nike still expects to release NikeSkims products sometime in 2025, although it remains unclear exactly when the first NikeSkims range will be available for purchase, what items will be included in the inaugural line and if the public will get a sneak glimpse before the initial release.
The February reveal of NikeSkims was bold and brash, lauded as a new chapter for both brands and touted as not just another celebrity-fronted range, but a deeper and more profound strategic recalibration.
Both Nike and Skims have invested heavily on the partnership. Nike is counting on Kardashian to help reignite its women's business, which has fallen behind expectations in recent years, and add cultural authenticity as it looks to spark a turnaround. Kardashian brings the social media reach and pop-cultural heat it desperately needs to engaged with Gen Z consumers.
Nike has been hit by production delays for NikeSkims accordign to reports. (Photo by Patrick ...)
For Kim Kardashian's Skims, which has already become a cultural phenomenon in the lingerie and loungewear categories, the Nike partnership offers it unparalleled access to technical design expertise, performance know how, plus global distribution.
Few companies have the wholesale and direct to consumer routes through stores and online that Nike has, or the global brand awareness, nor the ability to launch new and niche concepts.
Nike Chief Executive Officer Elliott Hill came out of retirement last year to take on the job of getting Nike sales back in the fast lane and he told investors in March that he expected the first 'comprehensive collection' would be available during the quarter ended May.
But that date has come and gone with no sign of any products.
The market has not reacted well. Nike shares have dipped around 5% since news of the delays leaked out and are down nearly a fifth since the start of the year.
Nike has been putting together a bespoke team for the high profile project, which had been kept as concealed as excess flesh under a Skims outfit for more than a year until the noisy announcement in February. Comprising employees from Nike, Skims, plus new hires, it is still recruiting designers and is widely expected to create and sell a selection of training footwear, apparel and accessories.
'The origin of NikeSkims is rooted in a desire to bring something new and unexpected to an industry that is craving something different, and to invite a new generation of women into fitness, with disruptive product designed to meet their needs in both performance and style,' Nike proudly announced when the company introduced the collaboration.
But right now NikeSkims is a non-runner in a market which is only getting more competitive, with an increasing number of cool, specialist brands from On to Gymshark conecting with Gen Z and Gen A and yet more brands following in the pack behind.
Why Nike was confident enough to come out all guns blazing in February for a proposed May launch, only to defer the debut of NikeSkims is, for now at least, a mystery.
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