Skims is moving its offices to Hollywood, where its headquarters will take over seven floors of a building once occupied by WeWork.
The tall glass structure at 1601 Vine Street is only one block away from Hollywood Boulevard and near several convenient amenities, including a Trader Joe’s grocery store and an Equinox fitness club across the street.
Since it was established in 2019, Skims has operated out of the nearby media-centric Culver City neighborhood where Apple is building a Los Angeles campus and Sony Pictures Studios is headquartered.
But the shapewear brand has exploded so quickly that the expansion to 116,000 square feet of space was necessary, according to sources. The label, founded by Kim Kardashian and Jens and Emma Grede, has seen its revenue grow from $145 million in 2020 to an expected $750 million in 2023.
Emma Grede also cofounded size-inclusive denim label Good American with Khloé Kardashian, Kim Kardashian’s sister. Company sources said Good American, also headquartered in Culver City, will be “operating” out of the same Hollywood building with Skims. A third clothing label, Frame, founded in 2012 by Jens Grede and Erik Torstensson, will maintain its offices in Culver City. Company sources would not say how many employees are moving to the eight-story Hollywood structure on a street filled with historic and modern buildings.
The 1601 Vine Street property has been mostly vacant since October 2022 when WeWork, which had a lease on the property through September 2030, revealed its departure. Last November, WeWork, once valued at $50 billion, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The edifice, developed in 2017 by J.H. Snyder, is a slick glass and steel structure that is LEED-certified, has modern amenities and underground parking. A City National Bank branch occupies the ground floor.
J.H. Snyder put the property up for sale in August 2022 with real estate services company JLL handling the sale. According to the JLL website, the building is under contract for purchase, although it was unclear if Skims was the buyer.
Skims started out selling shapewear online and expanded with wholesale accounts including Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Selfridges, Ssense, Net-a-porter, Lane Crawford, Holt Renfrew and David Jones. In November it unveiled its first store in Austin. Skims has said it plans to launch more stores in Los Angeles and New York later this year.
The company has also dramatically increased its product range from shapewear to underwear, loungewear, swimwear and sleepwear. Last fall, it introduced menswear.
Financial experts venture that Skims, whose valuation now is at $4 billion after raising $270 million last year in a series C funding round, might go public with an initial public offering.