Kim Kardashian Gives First-Ever Interview About KKW, Brand Expected To Earn Whopping $14.4M In Minutes
In a first-ever interview since revealing her fragrance and future beauty plans last week at Forbes Women’s Summit, Kim Kardashian West told WWD that she is ready to meet the intense demand of her fans on social media and beyond with her beauty brand KKW as she forays into the tested waters of make-up and glamour.
Kim Kardashian is about to cash in on the beauty craze she helped to start by collaborating with Kylie Cosmetics, the runaway success founded by her social media phenomenon sister Kylie Jenner.
The KKW by Kylie Cosmetics crème lipstick set was to test the waters. According to an industry source, 300,000 of the $45 kits sold out in minutes, the equivalent of $13.5 million in sales. This sell-through gave Kardashian, as well as her partner and manufacturer, Oxnard, California-based Seed Beauty (also the parent company of ColourPop), the confidence to go big with the first “drop.”
Industry sources expect that KKW will blow through the reported 300,000 units that were produced of her $48 Creme Contour & Highlight Kit in less than five minutes, amassing $14.4 million in sales.
This is just another instance that shows how the socialite and social media queen has the overwhelming power to grip the make-up industry with no prior experience and could provide an arrogant entry into the market in spite of super-power brands like L’Oréal, Estée Lauder, P&G, Coty, and Unilever.
An expert at creating buzz online, Kardashian sent her 101 million Instagram followers into a frenzy when she started teasing the KKW Beauty line last week, leading up to the launch of KKWBeauty.com on June 21. A sneak peek at packaging, campaign images, and even three videos with a flashing release date of the collection have garnered millions of views and likes so far.
Announcing the launch of KKW Beauty during Forbes Women’s Summit on June, 13, Kardashian said, “This year has been really exciting for me because it’s the first time I’ve moved away from having licensing deals and transitioned into being an owner.”
“After 10 years of getting my makeup done every single day, I’ve really put that knowledge into action and production.”
However, her fans weren’t as impressed with her venture, with one commenting, “The end of Kylie Cosmetics. Why would you?!”
This, of course, takes a jab at Kim and refers to possible intentions of ruining little sister Kylie Jenner’s established and growing business, which Kim used to partner.
Others chipped in, asking what other of her sisters’ business ventures she intended to damage.
According to Hollywood Life, Kylie herself is flattered. For years, she has been accused of copying big sister Kim, from her clothes to her face.
Now that the tables have turned, she’s inspired her sister but does have her reservations.
A source said, “Kylie does worry that her big sister will come in and take over. She likes that Kim is copying her but wants her to stay in her own lane.”
Clarifying to all skeptics and lifting doubts off minds of haters, Kim has taken a stance that provides relief.
She says, “I am older than Kylie. We definitely have a different audience. We do have a lot of similar things — but we aren’t doing the same products, so we won’t run into that overlap. We’re really cautious of that. We work together to make sure that we don’t overlap like that.”
As for what we can expect from KKW, Kim said, “[Contouring] transformed my face when I saw my nose totally change into a smaller nose — and I was hooked from then.”
She explained why she wanted to start with contouring products first, saying that “because I know that no matter what look I’ve been doing — whether it’s a heavier makeup look or light makeup or smoky or color — contour has always been constant. I feel like I have been known for contouring.”
Fans wish the sensational star all the best for her new endeavors. Let us know in the comments section what you think of her latest venture into the glamor world.
[Featured Image by Anthony Harvey/Getty Images]
