Skinz Under New Ownership

Brands
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Details are scarce, but it appears that Skinz has been sold. The announcement was published on their Instagram on December 5th.

We are under new ownership and revamping the brand, store, and website! Stay tuned to social media for announcements and new item alerts :raised_hands:

A new website is coming soon.

We are working on some super hot new styles :fire: We will be taking a brief pause from social media as we prepare and launch a brand new website! Don’t worry though, you can still order all your favorite skinz items on our current website, we can’t wait for you all to experience the new and improved Skinz brand :pray:

For anyone who isn’t familiar with the brand, the Tampa Bay Times published an article about Skinz when they moved to a new location in 1997. They interviewed Paul A. Polgar, the original owner.

Though the colors and patterns vary widely, from basic black to holographic, the swimsuits in the Skinz catalog have this in common: They’re itsy-bitsy.

Teensy-weensy.

In fact, downright small.

The swimsuits made by the Clearwater company run as big as Large for women (sizes 12-14) and as big as Double Extra Large for men (“XL 36-40, XXL Big!” the catalog reads). But the Skinz line is designed for young people who are in good shape. That narrows the customer base.

Even then, not everyone who could wear a sexy, skimpy swimsuit made by Skinz would want to wear one. That narrows the customer base even more.

Despite the winnowed market, Skinz has lasted 10 years, adjusting its sales methods over the years to better fit its customers.

The company soon will move from its leased headquarters on Cleveland Street to a building it bought and is renovating on Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard. Everything is done at the Cleveland Street site, from designing to sewing to retailing to distributing.

…

https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1997/07/10/swimwear-firm-buffs-up-business/

The new owner has already raised the prices; the M67, which I reviewed earlier, is now $39 for in-stock styles and $49 for custom orders. It will be interesting to see what other changes are in store.

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Wow! I was not aware of this and find it very concerning. It sounds like they’re definitely flirting with the idea of moving away from the smaller suits that have kept us as customers for years. I think that would be a HUGE misstep! Skinz tried board shorts a few years ago and had to put them on clearance and dropped from the next year’s line. If the new Skinz tries to take the company in a new, more mainstream direction, I don’t see things going well for them. There are plenty of places to buy basic trunks and briefs, but Skinz has always been the source for something more exciting. If they try to make it just a basic swimwear company, I don’t think they’ll last. Let’s not forget what happened to International Male once it was sold to investors who wanted to make it more palatable to the masses. I suppose only time will tell, but it already makes me really sad.

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I think this is a good thing for Grand Axis and Rayze.

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Thanks for the heads-up. Sounds like everyone needs to get orders in soon for the styles they like. The M67 and M77 are great styles, in my opinion. Hopefully, those don’t go away.

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I love my Skinzwear swimsuits. I’ll be disappointed if the M77 and M55 are discontinued. I’m not a fan of the other manufacturers because their fronts have too much material/coverage.

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