WEBVTT - Kardashian’s Skims Has a Global Plan That Starts in London 0:00:00.640 --> 0:00:04.400 I was very inspired by the Jordan brand when Kim 0:00:04.400 --> 0:00:05.640 and I founded Skims. 0:00:05.720 --> 0:00:06.280 I still am. 0:00:06.320 --> 0:00:08.520 I bought my first pair of Jordan's when I was thirteen, 0:00:08.640 --> 0:00:12.240 and I'm still wearing Jordans most of the days. What 0:00:12.480 --> 0:00:16.240 Kim and I did was to build a brand inspired 0:00:16.280 --> 0:00:20.079 by her, not dependent on her. We tried to build 0:00:20.200 --> 0:00:23.759 a brand that is an active participant in popular culture. 0:00:30.160 --> 0:00:33.040 I'm David Merritt and this is in the City, Bloomberg's 0:00:33.040 --> 0:00:36.120 podcast connecting you to the conversation's heart of the City 0:00:36.240 --> 0:00:41.240 of London. This week a conversation with YenS Greed, who 0:00:41.280 --> 0:00:44.480 is the co founder and chief executive officer of Skims 0:00:44.800 --> 0:00:47.480 if you haven't heard of it, that is Kim Kardashian's 0:00:48.000 --> 0:00:53.360 underwear and loungewear label, and with Franz scene Out. I 0:00:53.400 --> 0:00:57.800 asked our UK retail reporter Katie Lindsel to join the 0:00:57.800 --> 0:01:02.319 podcast and the conversation with Yen. I really did need 0:01:02.360 --> 0:01:04.240 your insight on the retail industry. 0:01:04.120 --> 0:01:06.640 Casey I was very happy to help and a bit 0:01:06.640 --> 0:01:09.640 of a female touch as well. There we go discussed 0:01:09.880 --> 0:01:11.200 it was necessary, so. 0:01:11.319 --> 0:01:14.160 You know, you might be forgiven for asking why a 0:01:14.160 --> 0:01:18.240 conversation with a Californian underwear seller in right. But I 0:01:18.240 --> 0:01:20.160 thought what was interesting about our conversation was what it 0:01:20.200 --> 0:01:23.080 told us about the state of retail around the world, 0:01:23.120 --> 0:01:23.959 but also here in Britain. 0:01:24.040 --> 0:01:26.440 Right, Yeah, it's it's pretty exciting that they sound like 0:01:26.480 --> 0:01:30.320 they are really considering I mean, at least one London location. 0:01:30.360 --> 0:01:32.319 They've already did their toe into London with a self 0:01:32.480 --> 0:01:33.000 just pop up. 0:01:33.319 --> 0:01:33.679 I found it. 0:01:33.680 --> 0:01:36.120 Pretty interesting what he was saying about how London is 0:01:36.160 --> 0:01:38.280 really distinct when it comes to retail comparing with other 0:01:38.319 --> 0:01:42.119 locations because we have this sort of split between mass 0:01:42.120 --> 0:01:45.400 market and really high end luxury and do you want 0:01:45.400 --> 0:01:47.400 a bit more space that's sort of in between both. 0:01:47.440 --> 0:01:48.880 So it's going to be interesting to see where they 0:01:48.960 --> 0:01:51.600 choose as a location going forward. They sound like they 0:01:51.600 --> 0:01:53.160 are focusing here, so that's exciting. 0:01:53.400 --> 0:01:55.480 Yeah, and some of the numbers of growth are pretty 0:01:55.960 --> 0:01:59.080 eye catching. So we talked to him about how sustainable 0:01:59.080 --> 0:02:01.640 that is, what are they doing in terms of fundraising, 0:02:02.160 --> 0:02:04.360 bacally going to go public at some point, and of 0:02:04.400 --> 0:02:06.120 course how did he end up working with one of 0:02:06.160 --> 0:02:10.960 the most famous people in the world, Kim Kardashian. Yance, 0:02:11.080 --> 0:02:13.000 Welcome to in the city. Thanks for joining us. 0:02:13.120 --> 0:02:15.440 Thank you guys so much for having me. It's a pleasure. 0:02:15.720 --> 0:02:19.040 I just thought i'd start with a big step back question. Really, 0:02:19.240 --> 0:02:20.920 I'd love to know a bit more about the origin 0:02:21.000 --> 0:02:24.040 story of SKIMS. You co founded it with one of 0:02:24.040 --> 0:02:27.639 the most famous people in the world, Kim Kardashian. How 0:02:27.680 --> 0:02:29.160 did you end up working with her, Where did the 0:02:29.200 --> 0:02:30.840 idea come from, and how did you end up in 0:02:30.880 --> 0:02:31.280 this role. 0:02:31.919 --> 0:02:35.160 Like a lot of things in life, things happen organically 0:02:35.240 --> 0:02:37.600 over time, and it's hard to say exactly when we 0:02:37.680 --> 0:02:41.000 made the decision to start SKIMS. I had known Kim 0:02:41.200 --> 0:02:44.799 for quite a long time and we have been discussing 0:02:44.919 --> 0:02:46.000 doing something. 0:02:45.720 --> 0:02:47.480 Together and playing with the idea. 0:02:48.240 --> 0:02:51.720 She really had a vision of what she wanted a 0:02:51.800 --> 0:02:56.160 company to become and an aesthetic associated with it. She 0:02:56.440 --> 0:03:00.200 knew she wanted to reinvent the shape where categories specif 0:03:01.320 --> 0:03:05.120 and personally I felt there was a huge opportunity in 0:03:05.360 --> 0:03:10.280 underwear and lounge And somehow, over a couple of years, 0:03:10.320 --> 0:03:13.000 we just got to a point where we were doing it. 0:03:13.400 --> 0:03:17.600 But I don't really know when that moment was exactly. 0:03:17.960 --> 0:03:22.919 Sometimes you get so into a project that I think 0:03:22.919 --> 0:03:24.840 the project just makes the decision for. 0:03:24.760 --> 0:03:27.400 You, and you're the chief executive of the company. Now, 0:03:27.400 --> 0:03:30.840 how involved or in the detail is Kim Kardashian. 0:03:30.880 --> 0:03:34.040 Now, it's a true partnership and through I speak to 0:03:34.040 --> 0:03:38.040 her every day all the time. She is a phenomenal 0:03:38.040 --> 0:03:42.360 creative director. Having had almost a lifetime in fashion before 0:03:42.400 --> 0:03:46.960 Skims and having worked with some of the greatest from 0:03:47.040 --> 0:03:51.880 creatives to founders. I have to say she's unbelievably talented creative. 0:03:52.480 --> 0:03:55.000 And of course Kim has such a huge following online 0:03:55.040 --> 0:03:58.480 and thus far Skims has really had an online story, right, 0:03:58.920 --> 0:04:01.400 and you have this huge following on social media. I 0:04:01.400 --> 0:04:04.000 think on Instagram you have something like five million followers. 0:04:04.360 --> 0:04:07.400 How key has social media been to your growth thus far? 0:04:08.640 --> 0:04:14.960 I think social media plays a significant part of our story. 0:04:15.800 --> 0:04:20.800 Social media is where customers live and it's the facto 0:04:21.080 --> 0:04:26.840 our source of news and entertainment and connectivity today. So 0:04:27.320 --> 0:04:29.560 I would say it would be hard for any consumer 0:04:29.640 --> 0:04:34.919 facing brand to be successful today without being deeply rooted 0:04:34.960 --> 0:04:36.520 in the culture of social media. 0:04:36.680 --> 0:04:38.920 Are there dangers that go along with that, but it 0:04:39.080 --> 0:04:43.159 has been disrupted massively over the last year. The trends 0:04:43.200 --> 0:04:46.200 in social media pretty hard to predict. How problematic is 0:04:46.200 --> 0:04:48.440 it to have so much of your business tied up 0:04:48.520 --> 0:04:49.919 with these social media platforms. 0:04:50.520 --> 0:04:53.880 I don't know what the alternative to social media is today. 0:04:54.640 --> 0:04:58.719 One wouldn't try to build a brand through traditional linear TV. 0:05:00.080 --> 0:05:04.160 So while platforms sometimes comes and goes or goes up 0:05:04.160 --> 0:05:09.320 and down in popularity, behaviors generally tend to stick. None 0:05:09.360 --> 0:05:14.000 of us are on MySpace anymore, and my ninety six 0:05:14.120 --> 0:05:17.320 year old grandmother is a very avid user of Facebook. 0:05:17.400 --> 0:05:21.800 I'm not, but I'm a user of Instagram, but I 0:05:21.920 --> 0:05:24.960 very much doubt my kids will be. So I think 0:05:25.000 --> 0:05:28.080 our behaviors tend to stick around, even though platforms might 0:05:28.120 --> 0:05:28.520 come and go. 0:05:29.000 --> 0:05:31.000 So is this some of the thinking behind now moving 0:05:31.040 --> 0:05:33.000 into bricks and watar stores? So there's quite a lot 0:05:33.040 --> 0:05:35.600 of excitement here with Skims opening stores. I think it's 0:05:35.680 --> 0:05:38.560 next year in New York and LA right, you're starting 0:05:38.560 --> 0:05:41.039 out in the US. Is that the feeling that you 0:05:41.200 --> 0:05:43.799 need to get your brand on the street in front 0:05:43.800 --> 0:05:46.520 of customers and really get shopping with them in real life? 0:05:46.680 --> 0:05:47.640 As some people put it. 0:05:48.760 --> 0:05:52.800 I think the best brands are able to offer a mix. 0:05:53.440 --> 0:05:58.000 Eighty percent of purchases are still happening in physical stores. 0:05:58.600 --> 0:06:02.960 We have a brand that is undeniably very much in 0:06:03.080 --> 0:06:07.600 step with its time and its generation, and why would 0:06:07.640 --> 0:06:11.680 I miss out on eighty percent of our potential business? 0:06:12.279 --> 0:06:14.760 Yeah, so here in London, how do you see the 0:06:15.040 --> 0:06:17.720 market for physical stores? Are you looking at? Obviously you've 0:06:17.720 --> 0:06:21.240 got a presence in salvages. Might we see a big 0:06:21.240 --> 0:06:25.279 flagship Skims store on Oxord Street, Origin Street? 0:06:25.560 --> 0:06:26.200 Absolutely? 0:06:26.640 --> 0:06:32.240 Absolutely, London is as a huge global city still relatively 0:06:32.279 --> 0:06:38.240 tricky with retail. The market's really polarized between real luxury 0:06:38.880 --> 0:06:43.679 and the true mass. So it's not a city where 0:06:43.720 --> 0:06:48.239 it's always obvious where brands to position themselves. It's also 0:06:48.320 --> 0:06:51.160 a city made up of villages with several high streets 0:06:51.240 --> 0:06:55.560 and their own particular culture and shopping habits. But absolutely 0:06:55.680 --> 0:06:58.680 London still is the best way to market to the 0:06:58.720 --> 0:07:02.240 rest of the world, and it's the natural entry point 0:07:02.279 --> 0:07:06.760 for an American consumer brand before it expands into Europe 0:07:06.800 --> 0:07:07.400 or the Middle East. 0:07:07.760 --> 0:07:09.680 So if you got your you mentioned the sort of 0:07:09.720 --> 0:07:13.880 village aspect of London. Have you got your in a 0:07:13.880 --> 0:07:16.480 particular village or a particular spot or is it too 0:07:16.680 --> 0:07:17.280 soon to say? 0:07:17.840 --> 0:07:19.760 I think that's too soon to say. 0:07:20.120 --> 0:07:25.040 How would generally phrase it is that I can absolutely 0:07:25.120 --> 0:07:29.760 see a future where Skims has stores in the most 0:07:29.800 --> 0:07:33.480 important cities, on the most important locations, and anywhere you 0:07:33.560 --> 0:07:36.520 might find an Apple store or a Nike store. 0:07:36.320 --> 0:07:38.559 Is probably where we would like to have a Skim store. 0:07:39.080 --> 0:07:40.720 And we've also seen that. I think it was in 0:07:40.800 --> 0:07:43.320 Paris that you've tested an international flagship. So do you 0:07:43.360 --> 0:07:45.640 have a number of stores in mind across Europe that 0:07:45.680 --> 0:07:46.840 you might be looking to open. 0:07:47.000 --> 0:07:49.680 I don't have a fixed number. I think with physical stores, 0:07:49.720 --> 0:07:51.760 you've got to get into it. You've got to open, 0:07:51.760 --> 0:07:54.679 You've got to test and learn and find the formula 0:07:54.720 --> 0:07:57.480 that is perfect for you. I think if you visit 0:07:57.520 --> 0:08:00.280 an Apple store, a Nike store, or an out the 0:08:00.320 --> 0:08:03.480 store of a great brand for that matter, you'll see 0:08:03.520 --> 0:08:06.400 there's generations of store. It's a formula. It's not going 0:08:06.440 --> 0:08:09.320 to be perfect out of the gate. So we've got 0:08:09.320 --> 0:08:11.559 to give it some time and I'm sure we'll figure 0:08:11.600 --> 0:08:11.880 it out. 0:08:12.320 --> 0:08:14.080 I'm just looking at the stats here about the number 0:08:14.080 --> 0:08:17.400 of stores' opening. You've got a pretty aggressive expansion plan, 0:08:17.560 --> 0:08:20.640 and that sales growth numbers are eye catching. But we 0:08:20.680 --> 0:08:23.720 all know, obviously the worrying economic headwinds that we talk 0:08:23.760 --> 0:08:26.160 about a lot on this podcast and on Bloomberg News. 0:08:26.440 --> 0:08:28.760 How competent are you that this is a great time 0:08:28.840 --> 0:08:31.200 to invest so much, to expand so much, and can 0:08:31.240 --> 0:08:35.240 we see these headline growth numbers really holding up? 0:08:36.160 --> 0:08:40.839 I would say that the market might be slightly contracting 0:08:41.480 --> 0:08:45.400 and the consumer could be squeezed, but you have to 0:08:45.440 --> 0:08:49.720 really dive into the world of retail, and when you do, 0:08:50.280 --> 0:08:54.320 you'll find that retail is full of legacy players that 0:08:54.520 --> 0:09:00.600 are downtrending and downtrending slowly over a longer period of time, 0:09:01.320 --> 0:09:05.360 and have been You can still be incredibly successful in 0:09:05.400 --> 0:09:09.440 a contracting market if your brand is taking market share. 0:09:10.720 --> 0:09:13.880 I just think we are in an environment today, doesn't 0:09:13.920 --> 0:09:21.400 matter if it is entertainment, restaurants, or fashion, where winners seem. 0:09:21.200 --> 0:09:22.000 To take it all. 0:09:22.320 --> 0:09:26.320 It's a huge polarization between those who are winning and 0:09:26.360 --> 0:09:30.800 those who are losing, and the middle ground seems to 0:09:30.880 --> 0:09:35.439 be very very soft, very very soft. And currently we're 0:09:35.559 --> 0:09:38.960 very grateful Schemes is one of the brands that are winning. 0:09:39.720 --> 0:09:43.160 We added over two million customers last year. We're hoping 0:09:43.200 --> 0:09:47.640 to add three million new customers this year. The brand 0:09:47.720 --> 0:09:53.400 has real momentum, not just in a specific custom group, 0:09:53.600 --> 0:09:59.320 but really across our biggest consumers are the millennials, but 0:09:59.679 --> 0:10:03.280 right behind it and it's gen Z and but gen 0:10:03.440 --> 0:10:05.840 X is also great. I mean, our dream was to 0:10:05.880 --> 0:10:10.440 have a brand that truly was cross generational. Much like 0:10:10.760 --> 0:10:13.560 I'm a Nike buff. I'm obsessed with Nike. And what's 0:10:13.600 --> 0:10:16.360 the great thing about Nike is that my son want 0:10:16.360 --> 0:10:18.280 to wear Nike. I want to wear Nike, and my 0:10:18.360 --> 0:10:22.280 mom can wear Nike. And I really hope over time 0:10:22.400 --> 0:10:25.200 that with Skins were able to build such a company. 0:10:25.720 --> 0:10:28.320 Do you see ourselves as really having introduced that youngest 0:10:28.360 --> 0:10:30.920 generation to shapewear? Like when we think of it in 0:10:30.920 --> 0:10:32.760 our minds, the tradition of spanks and all this sort 0:10:32.760 --> 0:10:35.480 of thing. It's not sexy, it's not attractive. But in 0:10:35.520 --> 0:10:37.839 this occasion, are you really looking to get sort of 0:10:37.840 --> 0:10:40.320 the younger generation wearing shapewear potentially sort of day in, 0:10:40.440 --> 0:10:42.320 day out. It doesn't just have to be for a 0:10:42.360 --> 0:10:44.240 wedding or a really special occasion. 0:10:44.760 --> 0:10:45.400 Absolutely. 0:10:45.800 --> 0:10:48.720 Now, having said that, shapewear represents less than twenty percent 0:10:48.720 --> 0:10:52.360 of ourselves, and of course, over the last three years 0:10:52.440 --> 0:10:56.520 during the pandemic era, and shapewear was more or less 0:10:56.559 --> 0:10:59.800 non existent because it, to your point, was something that 0:10:59.840 --> 0:11:04.320 you war education friends' wedding, something like that. Now a 0:11:04.360 --> 0:11:07.079 lot of our shape or products are really bought and 0:11:07.120 --> 0:11:11.559 worn ass clothing, and a day doesn't go by when 0:11:11.600 --> 0:11:13.960 I walk through the city of London or New York 0:11:14.040 --> 0:11:16.200 or relay where I don't see people wearing skims out 0:11:16.240 --> 0:11:19.160 and about. I kind of summed it up as Skims 0:11:19.200 --> 0:11:23.400 is an underwear and loungewear brand you wear when you're 0:11:23.440 --> 0:11:26.400 not lounging a lot of the times, just like lul Lemon. 0:11:26.440 --> 0:11:29.079 I guess it's a yoga brand you wear when you're 0:11:29.080 --> 0:11:30.200 not always doing yoga. 0:11:30.640 --> 0:11:32.600 I think, for example, now you have a valuation larger 0:11:32.640 --> 0:11:35.559 than Calvin Klein. Last year you did the fundraising round, 0:11:35.559 --> 0:11:38.319 and now the company's valued at north of three billion dollars. 0:11:38.640 --> 0:11:41.200 Do you think the timing could be right soon to list? 0:11:41.520 --> 0:11:43.679 Where do you stand on an IPO? 0:11:44.840 --> 0:11:46.960 I'm not that old, but I'm old enough to know 0:11:47.040 --> 0:11:48.960 that if I could call the market, I'll be doing 0:11:49.000 --> 0:11:52.360 something else with my life. So I tend not to 0:11:52.760 --> 0:11:56.760 think so much about the timing. We have a great company. 0:11:57.840 --> 0:12:02.760 We have no urgence to be a public company. But 0:12:02.880 --> 0:12:07.280 I've said in other interviews. I think eventually Schems deserves 0:12:07.320 --> 0:12:10.080 to be a public company. I think it's a phenomenal brand, 0:12:10.920 --> 0:12:16.520 and we have nothing but opportunity in front of us. 0:12:16.520 --> 0:12:19.120 And I think one of the things, going back to 0:12:19.920 --> 0:12:23.360 your questions about social what has happened over the last 0:12:23.400 --> 0:12:27.760 ten years, is that culture truly has become global. When 0:12:27.840 --> 0:12:31.960 something happens in Los Angeles or Studguard for that matter, 0:12:32.480 --> 0:12:35.720 everybody knows about it at the same time. So building 0:12:35.760 --> 0:12:39.400 a brand which really exists in popular culture like schemes, 0:12:39.440 --> 0:12:45.040 does you inadvertently or building a global brand from the start. 0:12:46.200 --> 0:12:49.880 We have over two hundred million site visits in the 0:12:49.960 --> 0:12:53.760 last over the last year or so, and over a 0:12:53.840 --> 0:12:57.240 third of that comes from outside of the US. Almost 0:12:57.240 --> 0:13:00.360 twenty percent of our business is done outside of the UNS, 0:13:00.920 --> 0:13:06.120 even though we are not offering currently an experience to 0:13:06.360 --> 0:13:09.640 rival even close to shopping experience or buying skims in 0:13:09.679 --> 0:13:10.520 the US. 0:13:11.120 --> 0:13:12.480 So I believe we. 0:13:12.559 --> 0:13:16.000 Have a tremendous amount of potential, and not just in Europe, 0:13:16.000 --> 0:13:17.079 but really across the world. 0:13:17.320 --> 0:13:19.840 In terms of funding, you had a Series B funding 0:13:19.920 --> 0:13:24.000 round two hundred and forty million dollars in January of 0:13:24.120 --> 0:13:28.200 last year, led by long Pine capital. Is your funding 0:13:28.200 --> 0:13:31.560 situation currently secure for the foreseable? Do you have to 0:13:31.559 --> 0:13:34.520 do another round or is there nothing else on the horizon. 0:13:35.240 --> 0:13:40.000 There's been some rumors that were out there talking to 0:13:40.320 --> 0:13:45.079 folks about another round, but nothing that I feel compelled 0:13:45.120 --> 0:13:47.160 to common to my DENI. 0:13:48.480 --> 0:13:48.760 Okay. 0:13:49.320 --> 0:13:51.520 And in terms of the role of the CEO, one 0:13:51.559 --> 0:13:54.360 of the things that we've been focusing on recently is 0:13:54.800 --> 0:13:57.640 how some of the challenges the CEOs can face. Simon 0:13:57.679 --> 0:14:00.240 Freakly Alex Partners was recently saying that now is tough 0:14:00.320 --> 0:14:03.400 is time to be a CEO because there's a lot 0:14:03.400 --> 0:14:05.240 of data, but it can be quite hard to actually 0:14:05.240 --> 0:14:08.160 get the insight. And CEOs are sort of expected to 0:14:08.160 --> 0:14:10.520 have a voice on everything, have an opinion on everything. 0:14:10.840 --> 0:14:11.959 Do you feel that pressure? 0:14:12.559 --> 0:14:14.240 Yeah, I'm sure I do. 0:14:15.440 --> 0:14:18.719 Right now, we're a private company, so I don't have 0:14:19.160 --> 0:14:23.920 to engage. But if we were to be a public 0:14:24.000 --> 0:14:28.680 company and if the board would want me to lead, then. 0:14:28.600 --> 0:14:31.840 I am sure I will. But you know, pressure is 0:14:31.840 --> 0:14:32.440 a privilege. 0:14:32.480 --> 0:14:35.840 As I say, I think one of the you know, 0:14:35.880 --> 0:14:37.960 going back to the social media point as well. With that, 0:14:38.000 --> 0:14:40.080 you know, CEOs are expected to have a voice on 0:14:40.560 --> 0:14:47.280 controversial topics. Too, whether it's issues around gender or around race. 0:14:47.520 --> 0:14:50.040 I mean, how much do you feel like you have 0:14:50.080 --> 0:14:52.800 to engage, particularly the brand that is so reliant on 0:14:52.840 --> 0:14:55.240 social media for engagement and for commerce. 0:14:56.080 --> 0:15:00.960 I don't feel a need to engage in my as CEO, 0:15:01.200 --> 0:15:06.720 but I believe that our company naturally is in you know, 0:15:06.880 --> 0:15:11.560 it's a reflection of the team, and we have had 0:15:12.280 --> 0:15:16.000 a lot of questions about, you know, what was the 0:15:16.160 --> 0:15:22.200 thinking in terms of starting a truly inclusive and diverse brand, 0:15:22.920 --> 0:15:26.640 And for us, it was never something that we contemplated. 0:15:27.400 --> 0:15:30.240 It is a natural reflection of the team and the 0:15:30.280 --> 0:15:34.720 generation that works within our business. It was our world 0:15:35.000 --> 0:15:37.760 and it reflects the world of popular culture, and it 0:15:37.840 --> 0:15:40.360 reflects the world in which we aspire to live in. 0:15:40.720 --> 0:15:44.680 So a lot of those questions, you know, are naturally 0:15:44.720 --> 0:15:47.720 answered by being in step with our times. We don't 0:15:47.720 --> 0:15:48.960 have to defend something. 0:15:49.920 --> 0:15:52.520 What concerns you most about the future? You know, We've 0:15:52.520 --> 0:15:55.920 got obviously sticky inflation around the world, We've got economic headwinds. 0:15:56.320 --> 0:16:00.600 What really worries you about the future? Successive schemes, so 0:16:00.720 --> 0:16:01.360 many things. 0:16:01.520 --> 0:16:03.760 I think I wake up every morning in a cold 0:16:03.800 --> 0:16:07.600 sweat about something, But that's my job. 0:16:07.800 --> 0:16:08.640 I'm supposed to. 0:16:09.240 --> 0:16:14.920 Inflation is certainly an issue. I would say that inflation, 0:16:15.320 --> 0:16:18.720 which is different in different places, is a big concern 0:16:19.000 --> 0:16:23.640 in terms of finding a way to deal with pricing internationally, 0:16:24.040 --> 0:16:28.760 so that's hard. We have not paused on the price 0:16:28.840 --> 0:16:32.560 increases we've seen to our customers. I would say over 0:16:32.600 --> 0:16:35.880 the last four years we've raised prices maybe one or 0:16:35.920 --> 0:16:41.280 two percent. So we have chosen instead to eat that 0:16:41.320 --> 0:16:43.680 and we've had the margins to do it. The world 0:16:43.720 --> 0:16:48.200 feels very unstable, but it's certainly not chaotic. It just 0:16:48.360 --> 0:16:50.840 feels very precarious. 0:16:51.320 --> 0:16:52.280 So we're all on edge. 0:16:52.800 --> 0:16:55.320 We're all been waiting and talking about the recession now 0:16:55.360 --> 0:16:58.680 for about eighteen months, every single day. Is it coming? 0:16:58.760 --> 0:17:02.400 Is it not coming. I've looked through two thousand and eight. 0:17:03.120 --> 0:17:05.960 I remember Sweden where I grew up in Stockholm in 0:17:06.280 --> 0:17:09.080 the early nineties and a banking crisis in the nineties 0:17:09.080 --> 0:17:14.960 in Sweden. I remember my parents' mortgage being eighteen percent 0:17:15.040 --> 0:17:19.320 fixed as a kid. So you know, I think we 0:17:19.400 --> 0:17:21.359 live in pretty good times. 0:17:21.280 --> 0:17:24.520 And there's a real squeeze, particularly the UK on cost 0:17:24.560 --> 0:17:27.320 of living. It's a big story here. The Bank of 0:17:27.359 --> 0:17:30.280 England are having to step up their interest rate increases, 0:17:30.760 --> 0:17:32.280 and there's a feeling that maybe inflication is a bit 0:17:32.280 --> 0:17:33.880 stick in the UK and than other bits of the world. 0:17:33.960 --> 0:17:37.760 And Bloomberg Economics actually recently have predicted that the Bank 0:17:37.760 --> 0:17:40.320 of England is going to provoke a recession in the UK. Now, 0:17:40.440 --> 0:17:42.920 as you said, we debated about whether when a recession 0:17:42.960 --> 0:17:44.720 is going to come in the US or not. If 0:17:44.720 --> 0:17:47.440 a recession does hit on a global level, how well 0:17:47.480 --> 0:17:49.120 positioned its skins to write that out. 0:17:50.160 --> 0:17:54.280 I don't think recessions tend to be terminal events. If 0:17:54.320 --> 0:17:57.439 you take a step back, most people throughout the Great 0:17:58.359 --> 0:18:01.680 Recession of two thousand and eight went to work, saw 0:18:01.760 --> 0:18:06.120 their friends, had a party on a Friday night, and generally. 0:18:05.760 --> 0:18:07.320 Got on with it. 0:18:07.320 --> 0:18:12.200 It doesn't, of course, minimize a lot of their pain 0:18:12.320 --> 0:18:15.480 and suffering that happens on an individual level. 0:18:15.720 --> 0:18:16.679 That's my belief. 0:18:16.720 --> 0:18:21.480 When we talk about these matters, we tend to exaggerate 0:18:21.920 --> 0:18:24.199 just how bad it can get or how good it is. 0:18:24.640 --> 0:18:26.760 You know, the reality of life, it's somewhere between pretty 0:18:26.800 --> 0:18:30.480 good and pretty bad. But generally there's a lot of 0:18:30.680 --> 0:18:32.960 that has to happen for it to be truly catastrophic, 0:18:33.680 --> 0:18:38.040 and if it is well we're all done anyways. I 0:18:38.040 --> 0:18:40.439 remember how with Mark saying that he's the founder of 0:18:40.440 --> 0:18:44.320 oak Tree Capital in two thousand and eight or so, 0:18:44.600 --> 0:18:48.720 and I'm recording it out of memory. Him and Bruce Couch, 0:18:48.880 --> 0:18:51.000 the other founder of oak Tree, was buying half a 0:18:51.040 --> 0:18:55.480 billion dollars a day, and they said, well, if we're 0:18:55.520 --> 0:19:00.240 not buying, we're not doing our jobs. And if the 0:19:00.280 --> 0:19:05.760 banking system collapses, well it doesn't matter anyway. So you know, 0:19:06.000 --> 0:19:10.280 I tend to mind my own house, my own brand, 0:19:10.880 --> 0:19:15.720 have a phenomenal product, entertain and engage with our community, 0:19:17.080 --> 0:19:21.600 and I cannot control, you know, the outside factors. What 0:19:21.680 --> 0:19:23.600 I can control is making sure I have a very 0:19:23.600 --> 0:19:29.040 strong balance sheet and we have a great margin, and 0:19:29.119 --> 0:19:29.720 that's what we do. 0:19:30.400 --> 0:19:32.960 You said you're focusing on creating great products. What's coming 0:19:33.000 --> 0:19:35.639 next or is there anything that you can point to 0:19:35.720 --> 0:19:37.639 the next twelve months which is going to kind of 0:19:37.720 --> 0:19:40.800 enrich that line? Any more progress for skims for men 0:19:40.920 --> 0:19:42.720 for instance, asking for a Friend. 0:19:45.720 --> 0:19:50.080 We are launching men's for Skims in the fall of 0:19:50.119 --> 0:19:53.479 this year. Time and date to be confirmed, but it 0:19:53.520 --> 0:19:57.320 is coming, and just like any other category we launched, 0:19:58.280 --> 0:20:01.040 it tends to have been years in DEVELOPM. We wanted 0:20:01.080 --> 0:20:03.480 to do Swim out of the gate, but it took 0:20:03.560 --> 0:20:07.880 us three years to launch Swim much because we were 0:20:08.359 --> 0:20:13.080 trying to work out one or two things. A product 0:20:13.560 --> 0:20:16.359 that is truly differentiated from anything else in the market, 0:20:17.200 --> 0:20:22.399 and a product that gives the customer exceptional value for 0:20:22.440 --> 0:20:25.919 the money day pay. So that's kind of how we 0:20:26.000 --> 0:20:29.119 have approached everything we do, and I think in the 0:20:29.240 --> 0:20:32.320 end of the day, behind the hype, it really comes 0:20:32.359 --> 0:20:35.800 down to product. I believe product is number one, is 0:20:35.880 --> 0:20:39.720 number two, and it's number three, and then comes everything else. 0:20:40.480 --> 0:20:43.040 You can get people excited, you can get people to 0:20:43.160 --> 0:20:46.760 try your product, but you cannot make people come back 0:20:47.680 --> 0:20:48.920 if your product isn't great. 0:20:50.040 --> 0:20:51.520 You said you often walk down the street and you 0:20:51.520 --> 0:20:53.159 see people wearing skims. We're going to see lots of 0:20:53.200 --> 0:21:00.000 men walking around in as yet unrevealed skims outfits. 0:21:00.080 --> 0:21:00.960 You'll be surprised. 0:21:01.000 --> 0:21:04.040 Twenty percent of our traffic is from men, and twelve 0:21:04.119 --> 0:21:09.480 percent of our customers are currently male. So if you 0:21:09.520 --> 0:21:12.320 look at two hundred, hopefully two hundred and fifty million 0:21:12.359 --> 0:21:16.320 of side sessions this year alone, you're really talking about 0:21:16.320 --> 0:21:18.840 over fifty million of sessions being from men. 0:21:19.000 --> 0:21:20.280 So our audience is there. 0:21:20.880 --> 0:21:23.400 Which markets do you see it being particularly popular for men? 0:21:23.440 --> 0:21:25.480 I guess us is kind of the key one to 0:21:25.480 --> 0:21:28.080 start with. Where else you see being really popular? 0:21:29.320 --> 0:21:35.280 Hopefully everywhere global brand after all? Which one I really 0:21:35.280 --> 0:21:35.880 do hope? 0:21:36.000 --> 0:21:39.880 But I think as a guy, I think I've been underserved. 0:21:39.920 --> 0:21:42.840 I think I've paid a lot of money for a 0:21:42.880 --> 0:21:46.480 pretty poor product for most of my life that looks 0:21:46.520 --> 0:21:48.760 one way in the morning and looks a different way 0:21:48.840 --> 0:21:53.000 when I come home at night. So I think there's 0:21:53.040 --> 0:21:56.560 some room for improvement. It's a very discount lad market 0:21:56.600 --> 0:21:59.359 for men. It's not a quality lead market. I like 0:21:59.400 --> 0:22:01.080 to be the equality leadmarket. 0:22:01.680 --> 0:22:03.800 Yes, thank you so much for joining us in the city. 0:22:04.000 --> 0:22:05.280 Thank you guys so much for having me. 0:22:09.960 --> 0:22:12.119 So I'm going to be buying some skims. 0:22:12.200 --> 0:22:14.120 Yeah, there you go. That was good fun, wasn't it. 0:22:15.000 --> 0:22:16.840 I should have asked him about what sort of what 0:22:17.160 --> 0:22:18.280 am I buying here? Underwear? 0:22:19.000 --> 0:22:20.160 Yeah? 0:22:20.760 --> 0:22:21.160