Kim Kardashian’s popular shapewear brand Skims has leased a 20,000-square-foot space on New York City’s coveted Fifth Avenue for at least 75% less than what was paid by the last tenant, Versace.
The figure means Skims paid less than $200 per square foot for the lot at 647 Fifth Ave., near East 52nd Street, while Donatella Versace had shelled out a staggering $770 per square foot, according to Crain’s, citing a report from Fitch Ratings.
After Versace’s exit from the space in 2018 — four years before the luxury retailer’s lease expired — several other chic neighbors have since followed suit, including Armani Exchange, paving the way for Skims to score such a steep discount
Skims is slated to open its flagship storefront in its leased, five-story Beaux Arts mansion — notable for its vaulted ceilings and Carrera marble surfaces — by February 2025, Crain’s reported.
The news comes the week after 647 Fifth Ave.’s mortgage was downgraded by Fitch on Thursday because of “reduced rental revenue expectations.”
The building is majority owned by Oxford Properties, the real estate arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, a pension fund with more than $100 billion in assets, per Crain’s.
In a statement to the outlet, Oxford said: “Olympic Tower is a premium Midtown office and retail destination, and we are excited to welcome Skims, which we believe will be greatly beneficial to the building.”
“We continue to have a positive outlook about Olympic Tower’s occupancy as we have now fully leased the retail space and are under negotiations to fully lease the office space. This will allow us to continue to drive income at the property.”
The rest of the property, 33%, is owned by Crown Acquisitions, a real estate firm founded by billionaire investor Stanley Chera.
The space that’s set to be occupied by Skims was included in $1 billion worth of loans for the neighboring Olympic Tower, a 500,000-square-foot luxury apartment and office building whose tenants include the NBA, Richemont North America and its subsidiary, Cartier, according to Crain’s.
At Olympic Tower, retailers occupy just 28% of the space but reportedly more than 60% of the rent, Fitch said.
Armani Exchange, which leased 2% of space and paid 4% of the rent, vacated 645 Fifth before its lease expired this June. There is no known replacement, Crain’s reported.
High-end jeweler H. Stern, which paid 5% of the rent, occupying a mere 0.2% of the space these days after vacating ground-floor retail space at 645 Fifth that was partially filled by LVMH Watch & Jewelry.
H. Stern is expected to vacate its second-floor space when its lease expires in December.
Italian handbag-maker Furla, which emerged from bankruptcy in 2021, has also left, according to Crain’s.
Skims is reaping the benefits of the exits at 645 Fifth — just blocks away from where Gucci’s owner and Prada have dished out astonishing sums to acquire prime retail space, the outlet reported.
The Kardashian-owned firm, which began as an online-only company, currently has retail presence in department stores such as Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue.
It’s set to move into the space as it also plans to move into additional brick-and-mortar locations in Los Angeles throughout the next year after the brand saw runaway success with temporary pop-up shops in Rockefeller Center and in London.
It also scored a $4 billion valuation last year after raking in $270 million in its most recent funding round.
In the wake of the valuation boost, Kardashian received a $500 million windfall thanks to her 35% stake in the shapewear company, which has expanded to also sell lingerie, swimsuits and menswear.
The 43-year-old mother-of-four is now worth $1.7 billion, according to Forbes.
Representatives for Skims did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
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