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SKIMS: Why Scaling Success Starts With A Solid Technology Foundation
224 Plays3 months ago
Emma speaks to Nina Khoury, VP of Strategic Operations at SKIMS, about her own career path and the popular brand's technology journey.
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Transcript
Introduction to Nina Curie
00:00:04
Speaker
a You know, I say it skims when when we're recruiting or hiring. To be successful here, you have to be willing to play low and play high. And that is you have to be someone that is setting the vision, that is a leader, that is saying this is where we're marching towards, but then be able to kind of pull up your socks and actually get into the detail or run the analysis. Like that is what you get in scale and growth mode. You have to be willing to play low and play high and you have to really enjoy that.
Technology in Fashion
00:00:35
Speaker
Hello everybody, Emma here, your host of the Interline podcast. Today, in the first episode for 2025, we are delighted to be hosting Nina Curie on the show.
00:00:47
Speaker
Nina Curie is the VP of Strategic Operations at Skims, meaning she's right at the heart of strategy, transformation, and scaling, one of the most talked about brands in the industry.
00:00:59
Speaker
In this episode, Nia and I discuss where she sees the future of technology for SKIMS as well as for the broader industry. We'll discuss the role robotics could have in revolutionizing warehousing and also how a 2022 micro-fulfillment pilot unlocked same-day delivery for the brand.
00:01:17
Speaker
We also break down some of the major areas where AI will play a role in the coming years with a focus on how important it is to integrate it at a foundational level. to improve efficiency and customer experience in a DTC environment, in the supply chain, and for optimization of daily repetitive operations within fashion businesses.
00:01:39
Speaker
Let's get started. Over now to my conversation with Nina. ah Welcome everybody to the show. i am absolutely delighted to have Nina Khoury on the show with me today from SKIMS. She is the VP of Strategic Operations And um I can't wait to get into this conversation with her. Nina, welcome to the show.
00:01:59
Speaker
Thanks so much for having me. It's great to be here. Absolutely. um So let's kick right off. um I'd love to know a little bit more about you. Can you tell me about your role and about your career path and what led you to be the VP of Strategic Operations
Strategic Operations at Skims
00:02:15
Speaker
at SKIMS?
00:02:15
Speaker
Yeah, can do. So as you said, I'm the VP of strategic operations at SKIMS. And what I do is I lead our strategy transformation and growth. um How I describe that is think from a strategy perspective, long range planning, product strategy, ah running more of our kind of the annual and quarterly business. business management reviews. So I run our quiz quarterly business review.
00:02:40
Speaker
So think through kind of building a more, I'd say long-term like sustainable growth function. Then on the transformation side, and it's funny, it sounds really silly to use the word transformation, um for a you know six-year-old company, but we have just grown incredibly quickly.
00:02:58
Speaker
We have you know we're hit a $4 billion valuation. We're kind of ah you know upwards of $750 million annual revenue, and we've just scaled incredibly quickly. So I lead our transformation team, and that is through processes, ways of working, big tech infrastructure.
00:03:17
Speaker
So thinking through, okay, what do we need to have in place to scale? And I then partner with, you know, the CTO, the COO and all other leads to then bring these large scale projects to life.
00:03:30
Speaker
And then the third part of my job is I lead several growth initiatives. An example of that is, you know, in our long range plan, embarking on, we say, okay, we want a loyalty offering. We want to build rewards.
00:03:41
Speaker
And I will take that and really get that initiative from zero to one. What's the financial opportunity? How do we want to structure it? And really partnering again with leads across the business to bring that to life.
00:03:55
Speaker
Now, I also, the the other final thing I do is I do lead our ESG program. And that was because when I started working with SKIMS, there was no one in our team with that skillset.
00:04:06
Speaker
And we knew as a fast growing retail company that we wanted to have a positioning, a strategy for how we were combating um the broader environmental impact of of of fashion. So I also lead that.
00:04:21
Speaker
Now, how did I get here? So my I started my career um at Bain & Company as a management consultant. I spent most of my time in private equity.
00:04:31
Speaker
So think through diligences, i working with the big guys of KKR, Blackstone on okay running in an acquisition. um What do we think of the company? What do we think of the industry?
00:04:42
Speaker
i then moved into consumer when I when i moved to the U.S., um And from there, I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to work with Jens Greed directly, who is our CEO and co-founder alongside Kim Kardashian.
00:04:56
Speaker
And I worked with him across an array of companies and initiatives, strategic and operational, that he companies that he has either founded or heavily involved in.
00:05:07
Speaker
And I would go and tackle and opportunity. For example, we needed a sustainability strategy at Frame. and Nina, go and figure it out. Partner with leads to really bring that to life.
00:05:19
Speaker
And from there, i started working more and more with Skims and that was our fastest growing company. That was where we wanted to put ken more eggs in that basket. And I was offered a role to work full time at Skims.
00:05:34
Speaker
So that's how I kind of found my way to the wonderful world of fashion. Yeah, definitely not quite linear, but I wonder that really probably has enriched your experience. Uh, it's enriched your toolkits, I think, and how you approach your very multifaceted, uh, role, uh, with, you know, those four sides that you mentioned, not even three, four.
00:05:57
Speaker
Um, so yeah, as we've just spoken about, your background wasn't originally in retail and, um, Yeah. Do you think this was actually something that was beneficial or was it more challenging in that way?
Transitioning to Retail from Consulting
00:06:11
Speaker
and um yeah, what are the specific skills that you actually took forward that proved to be valuable in the transition sort of away from consulting and into your role that you have now?
00:06:22
Speaker
Yeah, I think, you know, your question on kind of isn't an advantage or was it a ah challenge not being originally in retail? And I think it's definitely both. And I think this applies to any transition of industry.
00:06:35
Speaker
I think from a challenge perspective, there's obviously a way of doing things. There's also a nomenclature. um and There is like legacy operations, you know, how you cut a purchase order. What is a purchase order? How do you think about allocation across stores, the planning, the merchandising functions?
00:06:53
Speaker
And there is obviously a challenge in just ah getting up to speed with how things are done. And I think, you know, advice I'd give to people transitioning to any industry is I think it's okay to ask questions.
00:07:06
Speaker
you You know, I kept, you know, hearing about this, you know, purchase order cuts across every aspect of the business. It essentially is what we give to our to our vendors to to create our amazing products.
00:07:17
Speaker
And I thought, you know, how is this complicated? All these people are inputting different details to it. But then you really break it down and you're like, OK, this is just an order. This just cuts across multiple teams. and There's multiple facets. And then you actually think, is there a better way of doing this?
00:07:32
Speaker
And so I think on the advantage side, I have been able to come in and look at operations a little differently and maybe question, does it have to be done this way? and And that really is my role, like to constantly look across the business and be connecting the dots and saying, well, you're doing it this way. Is there a better way we could be doing this? Are there better ways of operating?
00:07:55
Speaker
And I think from a technology like technology stance, that's what we're seeing across the industry now. How do we use AI to to design? How do we think about AI with demand forecasting?
00:08:06
Speaker
there There's actually, I think, an advantage now to looking at the way we do business a little bit differently. um And then to your comment on the transition, what skill sets or what specific skills have been have been valuable,
00:08:25
Speaker
ah Absolutely. i like I look at my training at Bain & Company and I'm very grateful for the robust. I'm really grateful I started my career there because they do give you training at every level. And i think what you get as a consultant is you learn to break down any type of problem, any opportunity, and you learn how to break it down into bite-sized chunks to achieve the vision you want to achieve.
00:08:49
Speaker
And you also learn how to communicate that and bring everyone along. And I think in a fast-growing company, that those communication skills and and being to break down problems becomes more and more important.
00:09:03
Speaker
um but Like, for example, I think at a fast growing company, you have to really start to love the problem and not just the solution. And then having my ability, which is, okay, taking any problem across the business and saying, how do we break this down?
00:09:20
Speaker
you know, our long-term vision is to execute, you know, why? Well, actually, I'll give an example. I also think coming from consulting, you're really willing to put your hand up and tackle anything. And I remember we were planning for our pop-up in new York City in the Rockefeller Center and Our chief commercial officer said, I really want to test kind of some kind of booking system for our VIPs, our top customers, so they can skip the line.
00:09:46
Speaker
And I sat there in that meeting room and looked around and no one no one said anything. like No one put their hand up. And I said, well, okay, I'll figure that out. I'll own that. And so i I do think that because I'm so used to tackling just a vast array of different work, I said, okay, I'll own that.
00:10:06
Speaker
We figured out, okay, what do we want to achieve? I worked with someone in tech. I worked with marketing. How do we want to market it How do we want to position it? And then we executed and it was an MVP solution. It did what it had to do. I then kind of worked the door in with our VIP customers and got to see what their experience was.
00:10:23
Speaker
And I think just that example of,
Taking Ownership of Challenges
00:10:26
Speaker
Okay, being able to take an opportunity and say, who do I need to work with to execute this? um I have many examples across the business where just my willingness to to do that and put my hand up and break down a problem has been very advantageous and very useful in the retail environment.
00:10:43
Speaker
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I mean, you described yourself as a ah dot connector, right? But you're actually a ah problem breakdowner, if that makes sense. um Yeah, it's it's um I think it takes a lot of confidence. And yeah, you probably got a lot of that because you've worked and seen so many different things that you can quite agnostically apply that to retail where you're 100% right. Things are very kind of traditionally done still and um It's hard to break out of molds and lanes and see things like, what do they say? It's like the wood for the trees.
00:11:20
Speaker
um So um it sounds like you've really brought that to Skims, which is fantastic. um Now, we talked a little bit about AI now. Obviously, our readers are interested in the business side of the fashion, but as well as ah technology. So we know that SKIMS has been experimenting with technology from its inception in 2019. So already in 2020, I've read about how there were autonomous mobile robots across fulfillment centers, I think just because of the sheer growth that was happening. um
00:11:55
Speaker
So I believe Jens Greed said that These were really to maximize efficiency when it comes to basic tasks. And it was also really to help the labor intensity of, I guess, packing um items and pulling products, all that kind of thing. So, you know, we can talk about AI and is there any other technology that you see as really being beneficial for the future?
00:12:20
Speaker
um You know, we can talk about that in terms of scaling or just on a day-to-day basis with connectivity.
Exploring Tech Opportunities in Fashion
00:12:27
Speaker
Yeah, what do you think? What other opportunities for tech do you see at a company like Skims?
00:12:32
Speaker
I think many and and the same with the broader fashion industry. Like we are always exploring how we can become more efficient and how we can better the consumer experience. I think from a consumer experience perspective, as you've indicated on the fulfillment side,
00:12:47
Speaker
absolutely the use of robotics in in traditional warehousing. We also trialed a two-hour delivery pilot in a micro-fulfillment center. So thinking about the localization of inventory, that localization of inventory, and and we've seen this across retail, but how can you become more and more targeted in offering the consumer what is close to them, particularly as we launch physical stores.
00:13:11
Speaker
I think broadly on the consumer experience side, obviously um agents is big is a real area of opportunity that that I think has been the first real practical use case in fashion of of AI that we're seeing deployed.
00:13:27
Speaker
And how do we serve customers quicker, more effectively um in a way that just makes their obviously experience better, like that is the goal. Also on a personalization side, how do you continue to target and refine the offering for a specific customer?
00:13:45
Speaker
um I think we're trying to do that throughout our website, throughout our app, and particularly in a DTC environment where you do have this array of assortment.
00:13:58
Speaker
I think we're in a time now where the consumer know this could just be my like my personal experience but the consumer is looking for something more targeted they don't want to sit there and just scroll and scroll and i think there's some really interesting companies that are popping up on how do you kind of meet that virtual stylist to what you're served in your experience and we're constantly trying to do that through personalization um i think on the back of house i look at demand forecasting how do you continue to reduce waste in the supply chain
00:14:31
Speaker
And it's not only from a climate perspective on how do you, you know, not overbuy, how do you not have excess inventory, but that is bottom line impact. I think what AI is going to do there and what we are looking at is how do you take all of these different inputs from social media, trends, um what's worked in the past, and how do you more accurately forecast and influence your buys?
00:14:55
Speaker
I think that to me is one it's it's one of you know, my, like our personal, our, sorry, my personal priorities for the year. um And then I think like lastly on technology, there's just an element and this is across all businesses of repeatable processes from integrating spreadsheets, you know, in, in an operations environment where you're integrating invoices, spreadsheets, and it can still be quite manual.
00:15:21
Speaker
How do you just start to build more technology into those processes and, Now, in saying all of that, we're exploring all of those like different types of technology and just have to slot it into a roadmap.
00:15:34
Speaker
Because i think what you don't want to do is you don't want to bandaid any of these solutions. You need to build it so it's fundamentally moving the dial. So what we're thinking about is, okay, what does the roadmap look like over the next one to two years to start implementing those solutions?
00:15:50
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. Because you have to build something to last. Like you said, the Band-Aid can't just start coming off even five years down the line, then that's really not what...
00:16:02
Speaker
any business or the fashion industry needs. It's really important about it being embedded. And I guess that's where you really bring ah your skills in because you you are building something to last. And um with that component, the ESG component, along with the strategic side and and what you've mentioned, I think it's um really important, um really, really important when you are investing in technology to consider the things that you've mentioned.
00:16:30
Speaker
um So obviously your expertise is varied, but I think you have a pretty good read on what it means to scale a business. And obviously you were thrown into this situation with SKIMS where it grew you know exponentially over a space of even four years.
00:16:49
Speaker
um For anybody listening who is trying to scale their business, what, let's say, two key pieces of advice do you have or what would you say to them? um How do you scale and yeah what should you consider?
Advice on Scaling Businesses
00:17:03
Speaker
Yeah, I think like number one, to be in a position to scale, you've achieved great product market fit. And that, you know, at the start, that's all that matters. It is great product, an opportunity in the market that's kind of ripe for disruption and distribution. So ability to reach those customers.
00:17:21
Speaker
And that's where I do think Skims has such a secret sauce that the product's fantastic. There was a gap in the market. We kind of repositioned a category almost with shapewear, we made it cool.
00:17:33
Speaker
And we're then able to just have this amazing reach and distribution through Kim Kardashian. So I think number one, to get to that point, to be in a position to scale, you've you've kind of hit those those three things.
00:17:46
Speaker
I think from an actual scaling perspective, Number one, don't lose sight of what matters. ah You know, what I just outlined, right? Great product at a right, good at the right price in the in the market, in the segment, um a really relentless focus on margins.
00:18:04
Speaker
the That, I think as you scale, you sometimes forget or have to remind yourself of what really moves the dial here and that it always comes back to product.
00:18:15
Speaker
Product at the right price with great margins in a fashion business. I think secondly, and you know you hear this all the time, but innovation, and and it's not and it's not just from a tech like tech sense. It's not just from a product sense. It's how you operate.
00:18:32
Speaker
I think that's for any business. It is you have to keep reinventing yourself. And that's what I say to the teams when we're tackling these, you know the transformation initiatives. It is...
00:18:43
Speaker
If we're not thinking about how to revent reinvent ourselves to be where we need to be in two years, we won't exist. Of course, you need to be focused on, relentlessly focused on the day-to-day, the product, the things I just outlined of what really matters, but you have to be constantly reinventing yourself.
00:19:01
Speaker
um the Like markets, businesses move so quickly. We're seeing that in the wider industry. And I think lastly, As you scale, cross-functional um cross-functional engagement, cross-functional partnership matters more and more.
00:19:18
Speaker
I do think in a startup, you can be quite siloed. You focus on your own product or own performance marketing, um your own website, and you can focus on that specific silo.
00:19:31
Speaker
But as you grow, your problems become more complex. You have to respect your a complex problem and you have to really like, and I said this earlier, you have to enjoy that problem.
00:19:43
Speaker
You can't just enjoy the solution. um And I guess to say like so in saying that then you need the right people. You need the right people that can jump from a startup environment into a very fast growing company where you need that cross-functional skillset.
00:20:02
Speaker
You know, I say it skims when when we're recruiting or hiring. To be successful here, you have to be willing to play low and play high. And that is you have to be someone that is setting the vision, that is a leader, that is saying this is where we're marching towards.
00:20:17
Speaker
but then be able to kind of pull up your socks and actually get into the detail or run the analysis. Like that is what you get and in scale and growth mode. You have to be willing to play low and play high and you have to really enjoy that.
00:20:31
Speaker
And that has given me so much energy these past three years to be able to do both of those things. Yeah, fantastic.
Entrepreneurial Aspirations and Future Plans
00:20:38
Speaker
um I actually want to ask you, I mean, is there any world in which you yourself would like to start your own business? um It's just, it sounds like you have the knowledge, you have the passion. um Is that something that you'd consider doing down the line?
00:20:53
Speaker
um Yeah, one day. Like for now, I'm really enjoying my time at Skims and I've been able to just be part of this rapid growth and I think play a really influential role in in driving that growth and partnering on that growth and have learnt so much.
00:21:10
Speaker
But, yes, i i do one day will want to explore what my own company could look like. I've learnt so much from working alongside Jens and Emma Greed and really, what really matters in those early stages. So it is something that very much gives me energy. um But for now, I'm in a bit of the sweet spot where I get to be very entrepreneurial in my own company while being part of and driving that the rapid omni-channel and global growth we're seeing at Skims.
00:21:41
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. um And so speaking of Omnichannel, you recently or Skims recently opened its first permanent store in Washington, D.C. um And I just want to know in the UK and EU, what are the main channels of distribution currently? And are you aiming to change anything there? I'm going to guess that it's e-commerce, but what is it?
00:22:02
Speaker
So, yes, we are rapidly expanding our physical presence in in the US. I think we have around six-ish stores to date, including a New York City flagship. um And it's funny that you said our our our first store ah was in Georgetown. It's funny, not many people know, but we actually launched a workshop in Austin um about four or five months prior to that, which we called the Skims Workshop, which was our way of really you know, figuring it out. This was a, as we're a digital first business that is shifting to an omni-channel company and we needed to really build the muscle internally.
00:22:38
Speaker
and we were able to do that through a through a little, you know, as we called the workshop. So yes, rapidly expanding physically in the US and that is needed for the next kind of round of customer acquisition acquisition. There are still a lot of customers that, that won't try you online. And we know we need that physical presence and to give the consumer the ability to buy us wherever is best for them.
00:23:02
Speaker
From a kind of UK and Europe perspective, we actually are heavily in major wholesalers. So the Selfridges, the Harrods, the Carteves, Galeries Lafayette, we've invested in wholesale first, um as well as being DTC, like heavily DTC to your point.
00:23:23
Speaker
um But again, we've realized that we we want to have a physical, more of a physical presence in those markets in the coming years. Yeah, I think it would be very well received just speaking as a a consumer myself. So um fantastic. And are you able to share anything else about, um you know, any projects you've got coming up, anything that we could look out for in the next few months or year?
00:23:50
Speaker
Yeah, I think it's kind of building on on on what you just said. We realise and recognise the international opportunity, um particularly in kind the EMEA region.
00:24:02
Speaker
And so I think our UK and European customers can look out for a better customer experience in in the coming years from a physical perspective and and a digital perspective.
00:24:16
Speaker
oh That's very exciting. um It has been such a pleasure to have you on the show, Nina. And I just want to end with a question for you personally. and We've touched on a little bit you know about your um you know your your career dreams, should I say. But um I'd like to know what what's next for you. um Where do you think you're going to be in the next five to 10 years? um Is there anything that you'd really like to do other than you know your own business Are there any milestones you'd like to achieve at SKIMS?
00:24:49
Speaker
I just want to know where you see yourself um or what kind of person do you want to be in the next five years? Yeah, what a great question. um Again, and and I think it's great having conversations like this because you do reflect on all that you've learned and all that you've done and and what you've experienced. And for now, happy, very happy at SKIMS, very excited to be part of the – part of and driving the rapid growth we've experienced. um I think for me, I've just got to continue learning and growing more broadly. Yes, I would like to do something entrepreneurial in the future.
00:25:27
Speaker
I don't know exactly what that looks like, but I need to just continue honing that interest and and picking up the right skill set. Where I'll be in the next five to 10 years, i I have no idea. But for now, I'm moving in the... And there's something actually quite special about that, I think, that, you know, yeah I've loved working in ah working in America and the the opportunities and how large and growing this market is.
00:25:55
Speaker
So for now, I know I'm on the right path. um And it's not in my nature, but trying to leave me a little bit more but more patient with what that looks like. And we'll see. So say stay tuned. But for now, really, you know, happy where I am.
00:26:10
Speaker
Well, we will certainly, as of the Interline, we'll be watching your growth and watching Skims. And um it's really been inspiring to talk to you today. So Nina, thank you very much. And please come back on the show anytime.
00:26:23
Speaker
Thank you so much for having me. Such a joy. I hope you enjoyed my conversation with Nina. She brought some incredible insights on tech, strategy, and the future of fashion. If you want to stay in the loop with Skim's latest innovations and expansion plans, make sure you follow them on social media, especially as they expand to European markets.
00:26:43
Speaker
You can also connect with Nina on LinkedIn, where she actively shares updates, insights, and exciting developments. As for the Interline podcast, stay tuned for many more exciting guests this year.
00:26:56
Speaker
Thanks for listening. See you soon.