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From the Kardashian Kard to Skims: Successful and failed Kim Kardashian West's businesses© Getty Images

From the Kardashian Kard to Skims: Kim Kardashian West’s successful and failed businesses

On her 41 birthday, we wanted to highlight how she inspires other women to follow their dreams


Shirley Gomez
Senior Writer
OCTOBER 21, 2021 12:40 PM EDT

Kim Kardashian West was born to be an entrepreneur, and her eye for businesses is admirable. Undoubtedly, everything Kim touches becomes gold. Today, on her 41 birthday, we wanted to highlight her entrepreneurial spirit and how she inspires other women to follow their dreams and become their bosses.

Way before debuting Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Kim experienced running a business that she was passionate about — pun intended. Kardashian grew up watching her grandmother, Mary Jo Campbell running her children’s clothing store in San Diego, California. Her mother, Kris Jenner, also opened a children’s boutique in 2004 with Kourtney Kardashian. Kris and Kourtney had “Smooch” for almost six years before closing down in 2009.

In 2006 Kim co-founded with her sisters Kourtney and Khloé Kardashian their clothing boutique “Dash.” Since then, Kim and the rest of her family have had endless growth opportunities, and together they have built a jaw-dropping empire.

Kim’s global empire spans multiple industries, and her revenue is pretty impressive. Find below a list of Kim Kardashian West’s businesses and how she became one of the most successful and influential figures in the 21st Century.

Celebrity Sightings - Bauer-Griffin - 2012© GettyImages

Year 2006 - Dash Boutique

Kim Kardashian West and her sisters Kourtney and Khloé Kardashian opened their first joint venture under the name of The Dash Boutique in Calabasas, California. The business, which operated for 12 years and stocked a wide selection of high-end clothing and accessories, catapulted the three sisters’ success. Kourtney, Kim, and Khloé also opened locations in Miami and New York City.

Year 2009 - Kim's first perfume© Amazon

Year 2009 - Kim\'s first perfume

After naming her first solo venture Dashing (inspired by their boutique Dash), Kim’s first fragrance had a rocking start. Her sisters weren’t too happy with the selection, and Kim had to rename her fragrance to Kim Kardashian Eau De Parfum. The process of Kim’s first perfume is highly documented in Keeping Up with the Kardashians. The 41-year-old tv personality bottled fresh notes of jasmine, tuberose, gardenia, tonka bean, jacaranda wood, and sandalwood.

Kim Kardashian Celebrates Shoedazzle First Bithday© GettyImages

Year 2009 - ShoeDazzle

Kim partnered with Brian Lee, Robert Shapiro, and M.J. Eng to launch an online fashion subscription service. Through ShoeDazzle, Kim offered a curated selection of shoes, bags, and jewelry. For four years, the brand earned millions of dollars and later received an offer from fellow online fashion subscription service JustFab. In 2013, Kim and partners sold the business for an undisclosed amount.

Year 2010- Kardashian Kard© Kardashian Kard

Year 2010- Kardashian Kard

The Kardashian Kard might surprise many people, mainly because it was one of Kim’s unsuccessful ventures. Kardashian launched a prepaid MasterCard, which never took off due to its high fees.

Bloomingdale's 59th St. Celebrates Kim Kardashian's Belle Noel Jewelry Collection© GettyImages

Year 2011- Belle Noel Jewelry

Kim launched her first jewelry line in collaboration with designer Pascal Mouawad, named Belle Noel and inspired in her middle name. Kardashian sold her line exclusively at Bloomingdales; however, it wasn’t a success.

Khloe Kardashian Appears At ULTA Beauty's West Hills Store To Promote Kardashian Beauty Hair Care And Styling Line© GettyImages

Year 2012- Kardashian Beauty

Kim started collaborating again with her sisters and launched Khroma Beauty, a failed makeup line that later included haircare. After multiple lawsuits for copyright infringement, the brand had to be renamed Kardashian Beauty. Los Angeles-based beauty company Chroma Beauty and Florida-based company Kroma Beauty threatened to sue the sisters. According to consumers, the brand had low-quality ingredients, and the packaging looked cheap.

Year 2014- Kim Kardashian Hollywood!© Kim Kardashian Hollywood

Year 2014- Kim Kardashian Hollywood

Kim Kardashian West started venturing into other areas and launched her first iOS and Android game. In Kim Kardashian, Hollywood players could secure virtual gigs like the ones Kim had in real life. From book modeling jobs to club appearances, players were able to do it all. The game attracted 23 million players and had a revenue of $43 million.

Kim Kardashian West Book Signing For "Selfish"© GettyImages

Year 2015- Selfish Book

Kim released a coffee table photobook titled Selfish. The book had a comprehensive collection of Kardashian West’s unseen selfies.

Year 2015- Kimoji© Kimoji

Year 2015- Kimoji

Kardashian West launched Kimoji, an app with 250 emojis and GIFs, including Kim‘s ugly crying face. The app was a success and made millions of dollars. Kim also released merchandise.

Year 2017- KKW Fragrance© KKW Fragrance

Year 2017- KKW Fragrance

Kim described herself as a perfumista and created KKW Fragrance. Based on her previous experiences, she continued growing her collection and launched three new scents – Crystal Gardenia, Crystal Gardenia Citrus, and Crystal Gardenia Oud. Today KKW Fragrance offers a variety of scents, including the famous KKW Body, a perfume that comes in a bottle shaped after Kim‘s curvy figure.

KKW Beauty Launches At ULTA Beauty© GettyImages

Year 2017- KKW Beauty

After KKW Fragrance, Kim launched KKW Beauty, the brand that made her join the billionaire club. Compared to her previous makeup brand, KKW Beauty offers high-performance formulas. Kim sold 20% of the company for $200 million to Coty.

SKIMS Celebrates Launch At Nordstrom NYC With Personal Appearance By Kim Kardashian West© GettyImages

Year 2019- Skims

Kim launched her shapewear brand Kimono and immediately sparked outrage after her appropriation of the word. After the rocky start, Kim renamed her business to Skims, and today is a multi-billion dollar brand.