Kim Kardashian’s Skims Pushes Into Europe With New Leadership Hire

Skims promotes its swimwear collection with a 60-foot balloon of co-founder Kim Kardashian in Times Square, NYC in March, 2025. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP) (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)

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Skims, the shapewear and apparel brand co-founded by Kim Kardashian and Jens Grede in 2019, has appointed a former Michael Kors senior executive to develop its Europe and Middle East business as the brand executes on an expansion strategy well beyond the United States.

Robin Gendron has just taken the reins as President of Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) at Skims, a newly created role. The move says the brand—valued at over $4 billion in mid-2023—is “a strategic appointment” designed to accelerate Skims’ global footprint.

Gendron spent 11 years at Michael Kors in senior sales, retail, merchandising, and e-commerce roles, and the last four years as president of EMEA, making him a solid choice. Based in Switzerland, he is tasked with advancing commercial plans and regional market strategies, while also strengthening operational capabilities to keep pace with what is expected to be a speedy expansion.

Skims’ underwear, loungewear, and shapewear have found a loyal market by offering solutions for multiple body types. The brand claims to have developed “technically engineered” shapewear that can enhance curves while its underwear can “stretch to twice its size.”

Two years ago in 2023, Skims also added a men’s range of underwear and other apparel essentials from boxers that retain their shape to comfy tanks and tees, all designed with support, performance, and recovery in mind. In the same year, the brand tied up a multi-year deal with the National Basketball Association (NBA) making Skims the official underwear partner of the NBA, the Women’s National Basketball Association, and USA Basketball.

Skims to open in London and Dubai

Gendron said in a statement: “I am excited to contribute to the brand’s mission of innovation and inclusivity, and expand Skims’ presence across EMEA, driving meaningful growth.” He added that products and “experiences” in the region would resonate with customers, which might be a hint that specific collections could be developed for the diverse markets that Gendron will oversee, and which he already has valuable experience in dealing with.

Jens Grede, co-founder and CEO of Skims, said that the company was entering “the next phase of global growth” and commented: “Robin’s leadership will be instrumental in navigating complex markets and driving expansion across all channels. We look forward to the significant impact he will make.”

Major projects in the pipeline include the opening of Skim’s first standalone store in London, England next summer, as well as in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Both are considered significant location in developing a physical international footprint for a brand that started out as online only.

By the end of 2025, Skims expects to be distributed through a growing network of multi-brand vendors across EMEA, including Switzerland, Turkey, and Scotland. The company is talking about “rapid scaling” of retail tied to the launch of Skims’ first regional warehouse, as well as localization efforts for Skims.com in different European markets.

Skims has opened several permanent store locations in the United States: in New York, Los Angeles, Georgetown, Aventura, Austin, Houston, Atlanta, and Boca Raton. The brand also has distribution through prestigious retailers worldwide including Harrods and Selfridges department stores in the U.K., plus Galleries Lafayette in Paris, Illum in Copenhagen, KaDeWe in Germany, De Bijenkorf in Amsterdam, and La Rinascente in Milan.