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Skims has appointed Robin Gendron as its first president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, signalling an accelerated push into permanent retail with planned flagship openings in London\u2019s Regent Street and Dubai alongside wider wholesale and logistics investments.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Skims has named Robin Gendron as its first president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, a hire that signals an accelerated push into permanent retail across the region. According to Business of Fashion, Gendron \u2014 a 15\u2011year veteran of Michael Kors who most recently served as president of EMEA \u2014 will lead the roll\u2011out that includes the brand\u2019s first standalone stores in Dubai and London, with the UK flagship set for Regent Street in mid\u20112026. The Crown Estate has confirmed Skims has signed a ten\u2011year lease for a 12,000 sq ft unit at 245\u2013247 Regent Street, while regional reporting indicates the Dubai debut will be a permanent flagship. <\/p>\n
Gendron arrives with deep experience in the very markets Skims now seeks to crack. FashionNetwork records his promotion to Michael Kors\u2019 EMEA presidency in June 2021 and details a career spanning senior retail, e\u2011commerce and operations roles in Montreal, the United States and London. That operational track record is exactly the selling point Skims is flagging: having an executive familiar with European and Middle Eastern retail ecosystems will be central to scaling a D2C\u2011born label into permanent bricks\u2011and\u2011mortar. When he took on the Michael Kors EMEA role, Gendron told FashionNetwork it was an \u201chonour in driving the brand\u2019s vision for the region,\u201d language that underscores his industry standing.<\/p>\n
Skims\u2019 leadership is explicit about the stakes. Jens Grede, co\u2011founder and chief executive of Skims, told Business of Fashion that \u201c[Robin\u2019s] leadership will be instrumental in navigating complex markets.\u201d The company also describes its EMEA debut as coming with \u201chigh expectations for rapid scaling,\u201d a push it says is supported by logistics investment and a newly established regional warehouse.<\/p>\n
The rollout will be multi\u2011channel. The Crown Estate\u2019s announcement frames the Regent Street lease as a strategic West End location intended to broaden the street\u2019s retail mix, and Skims\u2019 chief commercial officer, Robert Norton, is reported to have welcomed the fit between the brand and the site. In the Middle East, regional reporting points to a Mall of the Emirates location for the Dubai flagship, underscoring the brand\u2019s intent to convert Gulf online demand into permanent in\u2011market presence. At the same time, Skims is pursuing wholesale doors across EMEA \u2014 the company itself has named partners in Switzerland, Turkey and Scotland \u2014 moves that sit alongside flagship ambitions.<\/p>\n
Those wholesale arrangements are already visible on the ground. Globus, the major Swiss department store, hosts a dedicated Skims brand page listing more than a hundred items across lingerie, loungewear and menswear trunks and confirms availability for collection at Zurich and Geneva stores, providing direct evidence of the brand\u2019s Swiss entry via a national retailer. Business of Fashion and other reporting also list luxury partners including Beymen in Turkey and established online luxury platforms among the wholesale roster, part of a broader strategy that mixes direct retail, franchising and selective wholesale distribution.<\/p>\n
The appointment and store pipeline come amid an aggressive global expansion blueprint. Business of Fashion\u2019s reporting and an earlier exclusive profile detail plans for 16 new US openings this year \u2014 bringing the domestic store count to 22 \u2014 and five franchise openings in Mexico this autumn, with the company aiming to enter seven new markets in the coming months. Industry reporting has previously estimated Skims\u2019 annual sales are approaching nine\u2011figure and near\u2011billion\u2011dollar territory, framing the expansion as a bid to translate online momentum into a permanent, experiential retail footprint.<\/p>\n
Moving from pure\u2011play e\u2011commerce to a hybrid model with flagship stores brings logistical and executional demands. Skims has pointed to a new regional warehouse launched earlier in the year as a key enabler for faster fulfilment and replenishment across EMEA. That backbone, combined with wholesale listings already live at retailers such as Globus, will be essential if the brand is to meet the rapid scaling the company expects \u2014 but it also places pressure on inventory planning, local merchandising and the cost structures of high\u2011rent flagship locations.<\/p>\n
Bringing in an EMEA chief with veteran luxury and omnichannel experience reflects Skims\u2019 recognition that execution in Europe and the Middle East will be as important as brand appeal. The hire gives the company a familiar hand to steer complex lease negotiations, wholesale relationships and the operational demands of a larger store fleet. Whether that experience suffices to convert online fervour into sustainable physical\u2011store economics will be a test for Skims over the coming 18 months as the brand opens its Regent Street flagship, launches in Dubai and deepens wholesale distribution across the region.<\/p>\n