In the typical news, Kim Kardashian has made headlines again, but whether it’s for a positive or negative reason is up for debate. Monday morning, Kardashian woke up sports fans with her new SKIMS partnership with the NBA. Kardashian and the official NBA instagram account posted their collaboration featuring images of Kardashian with NBA commissioner, Adam Silver, and SKIMS CEO, Jens Grede.
The NBA revealed today on their official website, www.nba.com, that SKIMS will now be the official underwear partner of the NBA, WNBA and USA basketball. The multi-year partnership comes after Kardashian posted a SKIMS campaign with Oklahoma City, Thunder player, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander alongside professional athletes, Nick Bosa and Neymar last week. It was reported Kardashian sold 25,000 orders five minutes after the advertisements were posted.
In response to her partnership, Kardashian said, “I am incredibly proud of SKIMS’ partnership with the NBA, as it is a reflection of SKIMS’ growing influence on culture,” she added, “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.”
What is SKIMS?
SKIMS is a shape-wear and clothing line for men and women. According to The New York Times, SKIMS is worth roughly four billion dollars only after being founded in September of 2019. The popular brand was co-founded by Kardashian, Emma Grede and Jens Grede. SKIMS is known for their star studded campaigns that are featured on their instagram with over 5.4 million followers and their TikTok with over 1.2 million followers.
North West almost revealed the news before it broke
When the news broke, fans started to connect the dots from Kardashian and daughter, North West’s TikTok live from last week. In the live, West hinted at a future brand deal involving her mother. Kardashian then began to scold her for almost spilling the beans. Turns out West was hinting at the NBA deal that Kardashian was set to release in the following week.
What are fans saying?
Fans of the NBA and Kardashian are posting mixed reactions following the announcement. Many SKIMS’ fans voiced their support for the partnership.
In the newest season of The Kardashians on Hulu, Kardashian was shown visiting a Harvard Law School to speak to law students about direct-to-consumer brands, including her own. It was interesting to see a renowned law school like Harvard was interested in the strategy behind the Kardashian brand, it shows the level of sophistication and respect for SKIMS in the law industry.
On the contrary, sports fans were less than impressed with SKIMS and its partnership with the NBA.
Many sports fans questioned Kardashian’s credentials and the NBA’s choice to choose to partner with SKIMS instead of any other underwear brand. People were quick to joke about Kardashian’s previous relationships with past NBA players.
3 Reasons this Partnership was Smart from a PR perspective
- The multi-billion dollar deal (reported by Forbes) will expand SKIMS male audience. Kardashian is a smart businesswoman because she waited no time to find ways to promote the new male garment line she only released one week ago.
- The NBA will also potentially grow its female audience with the help of SKIMS. Science the NBA has a 70% male audience, they are definitely in the market for diversifying their viewers.
- The partnership with the NBA will allow Kardashian to expand her line to align with athletic wear the NBA may encourage. This will open up more avenues for Kardashian, fashion-wise.
Sidney Wu 
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