Kimora Lee Simmons reveals biggest regret from Baby Phat sale
Kimora Lee Simmons has revealed the surprisingly low percentage she earned earned from her Baby Phat sale.
Kimora Lee Simmons earned less than 10 percent of the money from her Baby Phat sale.
The 50-year-old fashion designer has recalled the decision to sell her early 00s womenswear brand, which pulled in revenues of over $1 billion in its prime with Kimora as president and creative director.
In 2004, The Kellwood Company announced plans to buy Baby Phat and its parent company Phat Fashions, but the label closed its doors in 2010.
Reflecting on the sale, Kimora told PEOPLE magazine: "You live and you learn, I probably made — I think we ended up selling... it for 100-and-something million dollars.
"I probably got $20 million of that, or less. And the entire sale was based on Baby Phat."
As reported by the New York Times newspaper, the sale was valued at $140 million.
According to The New York Times, the sale was valued at $140 million.
When it comes to the valuation, Kimora has admitted she "missed all of the preliminary conversations" around the acquisition.
She added: "I wasn't privy to the fact that these [conversations] took place."
In 2019, Kimora reacquired the brand, revealing in 2023 that the "relaunch" is aimed at people who loved the brand in its heyday, as well as Gen Z-ers embracing the nostalgia.
She told PEOPLE at the time: "I call it kind of a relaunch.
"I just think because of everything we've been through, throughout COVID and everything, it seems like your life is always a relaunch every time you give birth to a different iteration of, you know, your baby, which this is."
Meanwhile, she explained that she was keen to avoid collaborating for the brand's Fall collection that year, despite having worked with the likes of Macy's, Forever 21 and Puma since 2019.
She said: "This is definitely our own offering, my own offering.
"Even though I was very happy to do those [collabs] and I have actually a couple of exciting ones coming down the pipeline in the not-so-distant future, this is definitely my go at it myself."
