Early November, Kim Kardashian faced fierce criticism after customers exposed what they found inside her brand SKIMS’s $148 Accessories Advent Calendar.
Shoppers who expected a collection of special holiday gifts questioned whether the small accessories justified the price.
The backlash soon spread across social media, with people mocking the product and sharing their own sarcastic versions of the calendar.
Highlights
- SKIMS faced backlash after customers shared unboxing videos of its $148 Accessories Advent Calendar.
- The brand reportedly offered customers a full refund or $150 in store credit.
- Cofounder Emma Grede appeared to dismiss the criticism by saying she didn't worry about “haters.”
Now, SKIMS co-founder Emma Grede has addressed the criticism, but her response has seemingly rubbed salt in the wound of many customers.
“This is how the rich see us. We're disposable cash cows,” said one commenter.
SKIMS’s attempt at damage control over their calendar backfired among customers
The backlash began when customers started sharing unboxing videos of the SKIMS Accessories Advent Calendar online.
The limited-edition product launched on October 29 as part of the brand’s 2026 holiday collection. It featured 12 compartments, each with a different accessory hidden inside.
However, shoppers who paid $148 for the calendar were surprised by how ordinary many of the items appeared.
One viral TikTok video showed a customer opening every compartment and revealing the contents.
The first day contained a bear keychain, followed by three hair elastics on day two and three satin scrunchies on day three.
The remaining compartments included bobby pins, a SKIMS-branded squishy toy, hair clips, and headbands made from b*a elastic. The calendar also included keychains, a comb, more scrunchies, and a faux-fur compact mirror keychain.
The calendar contained no bras, underwear, pajamas, or other clothing items from the brand’s main collection.
As the customer opened more compartments, her disappointment became increasingly obvious.
“What is this? A b*a strap made into a hair tie?” she asked while examining one of the accessories.
She also sarcastically reacted to another compartment, saying, “Perfect. More SKIMS bobby pins. The red ones. I wanted that so bad.”
By the time she reached the final compartment, she was clearly hoping for something more valuable.
“And it better be made of gold,” she joked.
Instead, she found another small accessory, a furry mirror keychain.
The video quickly gained attention, reportedly collecting more than 45 million views. Many viewers agreed with the customer's frustration and questioned whether the contents were worth anywhere near $148.
“$150 is wild for maybe $20 worth of stuff,” wrote one netizen.
After netizens brutally slammed the calendar, SKIMS offered customers refunds or in-store credit
As the criticism grew, some customers who had ordered the calendar reportedly received an unexpected email from SKIMS.
According to screenshots circulating online, the company offered buyers two options: they could return the calendar for a full refund or keep it and receive $150 in store credit.
The email also apologized for not meeting customers’ expectations. It reportedly acknowledged that the team behind the product had “fallen short.”
The offer surprised some shoppers, particularly because the company appeared willing to give customers more in store credit than they had originally paid for the calendar.
However, the refund offer did not stop the discussion. Instead, attention soon shifted to a video featuring SKIMS cofounder Emma Grede, who was asked about the criticism by a reporter.
Emma Grede responded to the calendar backlash, sparking another round of online backlash
Grede is the founding partner and chief product officer of SKIMS.
She also co-founded Khloe Kardashian’s clothing brand, Good American. Her husband, Jens Grede, is another SKIMS co-founder and serves as the company’s CEO.
In a video shared by TMZ on November 11, a reporter asked Grede, “What do you wanna say to the haters? You know, stuff happens in business. What do you wanna say to the people that were judging that calendar?”
Grede replied, “Your question is really good, but, you know, I don’t worry about the haters.”
She then shrugged and smiled before adding, “It’s a new day!”
The short response quickly circulated online, attracting more than 1.3 million views on TikTok alone.
However, many viewers were unimpressed. They questioned the way Grede chose to address the unhappy customers.
One person wrote, “The haters? You mean your consumers?”
Another called her words “an unprofessional response.”
A third questioned the company's refund offer, writing, “Why are they refunding everyone if they don't care about the haters then?”
People accused Grede of dismissing the customers who support SKIMS
Some users argued that a company should take criticism from paying customers seriously, especially when people question a product's value.
“Imagine building your entire reputation around understanding consumers and then dismissing them as haters the moment they question your products, the irony is incredible,” one person wrote.
“I think both the calendar and Emma’s reaction perfectly reflect how they view their customers,” another added. “Not as people to serve, but as opportunities to extract as much money from as possible.”
Another criticized the wider business model, saying, “Capitalism in a nutshell. Gonna s*ck the planet completely dry while they Scrooge McDuck in a pile of fu**ing money.”
However, some people defended Grede, arguing that her response made sense in the context of the question she received.
“The question was ‘What do you say to haters,’ and she responded by saying ‘I don't worry about haters.’ Don't see anything wrong with that,” the person wrote.
Another user agreed, saying, “The question was about haters and not consumers. So her answer was relevant.”
"Box full of pranks," wrote one netizen
