Skims to land in Hong Kong. Will China’s consumers eat the hype?

What happened Skims will open its first Greater China flagship store in Hong Kong this November, the brand’s first standalone retail location in the region and deepening a partnership with luxury retailer Lane Crawford that began in 2021. The 353-sqm store will be located in Causeway Bay’s Times Square, one of Hong Kong’s most prominent shopping destinations. The Hong Kong opening follows several years of testing the China market through Lane Crawford’s wholesale network and localized product offerings. In 2024, the two partners introduced the brand to mainland consumers through a Chengdu pop-up. The company has also developed Asia-specific fits and maintained a presence through department store counters in key cities, though online netizens complained about the limited availability of the collection and sizes. Consumer interest appears strong. On Xiaohongshu (also known as RedNote), the hashtag “Skims” has generated more than 860 million views, while pregnancy-related discussions around the brand have attracted over 1.4 million views, highlighting demand that extends beyond celebrity fandom. Founded in 2019 by Kim Kardashian, Emma Grede, and Jens Grede, Skims has evolved from a direct-to-consumer shapewear startup into one of fashion’s fastest-growing labels. The company was valued at $5 billion in 2025 and has since expanded beyond shapewear into underwear, loungewear, menswear, and performance apparel. The Jing Take: Why Hong Kong matters Many apparel brands are choosing Hong Kong as their first permanent foothold in Greater China. Recent examples include activewear brand Alo Yoga, which selected Hong Kong for its first China store at K11 Musea, and British streetwear label Palace, which opened its first standalone Hong Kong store earlier this year in Causeway Bay. Luxury and contemporary brands ranging from A.P.C. to Lululemon have similarly used Hong Kong as a launchpad before pursuing broader mainland expansion. The logic is compelling. Hong Kong offers access to both local consumers and mainland visitors, operates under a more familiar retail and regulatory environment for Western companies, and provides a concentrated luxury shopping ecosystem where brands can test merchandising, pricing, and consumer response with lower execution risk than a large-scale mainland rollout. For Skims, the store also represents a shift in how global fashion brands are approaching China. Rather than opening dozens of stores immediately, brands increasingly prefer to build awareness digitally, validate demand through partners, and only then commit to flagship locations. Can functionality travel better than luxury hype? Skim’s arrival says as much about China’s evolving consumer landscape as it does about the brand itself. For years, Western fashion brands entering China leaned heavily on logos, heritage, and aspirational storytelling. Skims is betting on a different proposition: functionality. Its rise has been driven by both celebrity endorsement, Kim Kardashian is one of the world’s most influential figures, as well as by product categories that solve everyday consumer needs, from shapewear and intimates to maternity wear and loungewear. That positioning aligns well with Chinese consumers increasingly focused on practicality, comfort, and value-driven premiumization. The larger question is whether Skims can translate extraordinary online attention into long-term offline loyalty. Xiaohongshu buzz and celebrity influence may generate traffic, but physical retail requires repeat purchases and sustained relevance beyond the Kardashian effect. The Hong Kong flagship will be an early test of whether one of America’s most talked-about fashion brands can become one of China’s most durable ones. The Jing Take reports on a piece of the leading news and presents our editorial team’s analysis of the key implications for the luxury industry. In the recurring column, we analyze everything from product drops and mergers to heated debate sprouting on Chinese social media.

Skims to land in Hong Kong. Will China’s consumers eat the hype?

How Bottega Veneta weaved China’s forever it bag

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Skims to land in Hong Kong. Will China’s consumers eat the hype?

How Bottega Veneta weaved China’s forever it bag