A shop unit that sat empty after one of Britain’s best-known high street names collapsed has a new tenant, and it says a good deal about where physical retail is heading.
Kim Kardashian’s shapewear and swimwear label Skims has opened its first standalone UK store on Regent Street, taking the 12,000 sq ft former Ted Baker flagship at 245-247 on a ten-year lease with landlord The Crown Estate.
The brand, valued at $4billion (£3billion) after a 2023 funding round, celebrated its grand opening today, with shoppers queuing for its bestselling styles. It marks Skims’ first international flagship and its first permanent standalone shop in the UK, having previously traded here only through pop-ups and concessions.
For UK business owners, the detail worth noting is not the celebrity. It is the commitment. A digitally native brand that could sell perfectly well online has signed a decade-long lease on one of the country’s most expensive retail streets, betting real money that a bricks-and-mortar presence still earns its keep.
That the unit was Ted Baker’s makes the point sharper. The British label fell into administration last year and closed its remaining UK stores, leaving prime space dark. Watching an American challenger fill it is a reminder that a struggling incumbent and a healthy high street are not the same thing. Location still commands a premium when the offer is right.
Jens Grede, Skims co-founder and chief executive, told The Times: “Launching a standalone Skims store on London’s Regent Street is a pivotal step in our global expansion.
“This iconic location allows us to forge a deeper, more personal connection with our UK customers, delivering the full Skims experience in a world-class retail destination with authenticity and vision at the heart of our brand.”
The company was founded seven years ago by Kardashian alongside British entrepreneur Emma Grede and her Swedish husband Jens Grede. Grede, who grew up in east London, has become one of the more instructive case studies for founders, having also co-founded Khloe Kardashian’s Good American and Kris Jenner’s Safely. Skims posted revenue of $750million (£570million) in 2023 and helped make Kardashian a Forbes billionaire in 2021.
The Regent Street site sits among a run of recent openings including Antler, Max&Co, Penhaligon’s, Michael Kors, Gant and Lululemon, part of a deliberate curation strategy by The Crown Estate, whose West End portfolio has been throwing off record profits. That clustering matters for smaller traders nearby: anchor names pull footfall that independents and cafes then convert.
Laura Thursfield, The Crown Estate’s retail leasing director, said the arrival “will enhance the diversity of the wider retail and leisure offering, boosting both footfall and commercial activity in the West End by driving different audiences towards the world-class destination that is Regent Street”.
Robert Norton, Skims chief commercial officer, called the opening “a landmark moment”, adding: “This milestone reflects our strategic focus on expanding into key global markets.”
Skims already stocks through Selfridges and Harrods, and earlier reported plans confirmed the Regent Street move back in May 2025. The lesson for UK retailers is not that everyone needs a flagship. It is that the best physical locations remain a scarce, valuable asset, and that the brands winning right now are treating stores as a growth channel rather than a cost to cut.
