Kim Kardashian's SKIMS, NBA Announce Massive Multi-Year Partnership
Highlights
- Shapewear and leisurewear brand SKIMS, owned by Kim Kardashian, has partnered with the NBA, WNBA, and USA Basketball, becoming their official underwear partner.
- The brand recently launched SKIMS for men, offering a range of upscale underwear, undershirts, socks, and tanks in various styles and colors.
- The partnership aims to connect people through fashion, sport, and talent, leveraging the NBA's cultural influence to engage the next generation of fans while promoting SKIMS.
Shapewear mogul Kim Kardashian's SKIMS brand reached a new milestone in late October, after the National Basketball Association (NBA) disclosed an exclusive partnership with the brand.
On October 30th, the SKIMS NBA deal was confirmed in a press release issued by the NBA, "Skims named official underwear partner of the NBA, WNBA and USA Basketball." It announced:
The National Basketball Association (NBA) and SKIMS today announced a multiyear partnership, making SKIMS the official underwear partner of the NBA, the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and USA Basketball.
Just before the SKIMS NBA deal was confirmed by both parties (Kardashian and the NBA), SKIMS' for men had just dropped. On October 26th, GQ.com covered the launch of SKIMS for men, providing a buyer's guide for its readers and reporting:
Broadly, Skims Men's is a gift-wrapped box full of upscale undies, socks, undershirts, and tanks in black, white, gray, and those soft earth tones that Kim’s always made look like the comfiest colors on earth. Where things get interesting is in the line’s three-part breakdown.
The Stretch collection brings undies and tees with seamless construction and a skintight feel (plus an “enhanced pouch”—not that you need it); Cotton covers all the basics, but leans more breathable and lounge-y; Sport is a gym-ready system made from super-stretchy, sweat-wicking poly-lycra blend so that everything stays put on leg day.
In the October 30th NBA press release, Kardashian commented on the newly inked partnership between the organization and SKIMS. Kardashian said:
I am incredibly proud of SKIMS partnership with the NBA, as it is a reflection of SKIMS growing influence on culture. Together, SKIMS and the NBA will connect people of all backgrounds through fashion, sport, and talent, and I look forward to seeing the partnership thrive.
SKIMS co-founder Jens Grede was quoted as saying that the "NBA’s modern approach and significant impact on pop culture, entertainment, and fashion is unparalleled in sports."
Grede added that the partnership was designed to allow SKIMS and the NBA to "engage the next-generation of fans through basketball.”
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The Kardashian-Jenner clan may have gotten their fame from reality television, but they launched that reality TV stardom into multiple businesses.NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was also quoted in the NBA's press release. Silver described SKIMS as "culturally influential," and discussed ways in which the SKIMS NBA partnership would benefit both the organization and the brand:
SKIMS has quickly become one of our most culturally-influential brands. We look forward to bringing NBA fans and SKIMS users unique experiences, new offerings and premium products through our partnership ... Together, SKIMS, the NBA, WNBA and USA Basketball will leverage the power of basketball to generate excitement and demand, by showing up in unexpected ways.
Fans will see the partnership come to life at future marquee events, including NBA All-Star and the NBA In-Season Tournament.
The press release noted that SKIMS would "receive media exposure across a variety of league platforms, including through on-court virtual signage during NBA and WNBA national broadcasts as well as the leagues’ official social and digital platforms" in the course of the multi-year partnership.
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The company's net worth will likely continue to grow as it plans to open up physical stores by the start of next year.Kardashian announced the partnership with posts to her Instagram and Twitter (X) accounts on the morning of October 30th:
On Twitter (X), the NBA also announced the new deal:
According to USA Today, the SKIMS NBA collaboration kicked off at a time when the WNBA was experiencing significant gains in terms of viewership and general popularity.
As such, the deal would likely boost the already popular women's portion of SKIMS retail business:
The WNBA is experiencing a ton of growth. Fittingly, the 2023 season was the most-watched regular season since 2002. Viewership numbers were up 21% as the league set new records across WNBA digital platforms, social media, and sports betting.
Finally, the NBA's press release noted that SKIMS celebrated the SKIMS for men launch "with a new brand campaign, 'Every Body is Wearing SKIMS,' starring NBA All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, alongside the brand’s official athlete endorsers." The campaign was the first involving the NBA and Kardashian's brand.
As of October 30th, additional details of the SKIMS NBA partnership had not yet been disclosed. However, the deal was likely to further boost the visibility and popularity of SKIMS, and add to its multi-billion dollar valuation.
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