The Real Reason The Kardashians Are Closing DASH Stores
It seems these days the Kardashians are working to rid themselves of DASH stores. Following the closure of their Soho boutique late last year, a series of rumors have started circulating about the fate of the franchise and their two remaining locations. Are DASH stores closing because of dwindling profits, or is harassment to blame? It turns out there is no single reason for the decision behind the closing of certain DASH boutiques. Possible explanations are available — most of which come by way of the Kardashians themselves.
So let's get to the bottom of what's going on with the Kardashians' DASH stores.
The New York City rent is just too high
If you visit the official DASH website, you'll note that the New York location is "permanently closed." According to the Page Six, the store was "quietly shuttered" in December 2016. So what went wrong? Allegedly, the high cost of renting the space might be to blame. Back in 2014, The Real Deal revealed that the Soho space cost the Kardashians upwards of $1.4 million per year. We can only imagine the cost of maintaining the location continued to rise.
The high rent might not be a problem if DASH was a hugely successful franchise, but in Khloé Kardashian's own words, that's not been the case. It seems Kardashian clan just wasn't interested in salvaging this pricey location.
Their products are seriously outdated
The season 13 premiere episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians saw Kourtney Kardashian and family friend Jonathan Cheban visit the New York DASH location. They were less than impressed with the state of the store, making its closing no shocker in retrospect. Kourtney even called big sister Kim to complain about the boutique's drab state. "It's so 2009," lamented Kourtney, "I don't even have the words to explain." When face to face with the drab clothing, the Kardashian sibling felt very strongly that the family's business "needs to evolve."
With the products at DASH several years behind current trends — which is a lifetime in the fast-paced fashion industry — it's no wonder the franchise was struggling to keep up, making closures all but inevitable.
The Kardashian brand isn't what it once was
The DASH closings seem to signal a harsh truth for the Kardashian family: the public just isn't as interested in their brand as it once was. It's a scary reality, considering that even as recently as 2014 there were long lines of excited customers. Throngs of onlookers hoped to catch a glimpse of the famous Kardashians.
Things are different just a few short years later. "Remember when we had lines?" Kourtney asked during the KUWTK premiere. It used to be DASH openings were enough to warrant spin-off reality TV shows. With TV show ratings at an all-time low, it seems the buying public just isn't interested.
The stores are a prime target for haters and vandals
The DASH stores are a sort of physical manifestation of all things Kardashian. Unfortunately, many who happen to hate the Kardashians have express that by vandalizing their stores.
In 2009, at least one vandal targeted the Miami DASH location — and the store wasn't even officially open to the public yet! As Kourtney explained, "Lily, our store employee, who is with us in Miami for the opening, arrived this morning and discovered that the store window had been vandalized with graffiti. All of the graffiti on the wall was gang-related and there were carvings in the glass. All in all, the damage is pretty bad, but they're painting over it now!" She also shared that nothing was taken from the store, and that it likely wasn't a targeted attack.
The same couldn't be said for the attempted arson at the Los Angeles DASH boutique. According to TMZ, witnesses saw a man "[throw] a weighted, burning rag through the West Hollywood storefront window " The June 2016 incident didn't result in too much damage outside of a broken window because the rag "burned itself out." It reportedly was weighed down by a bottle of lighter fluid found inside the store. TMZ later reported that vandals targeted the same Los Angeles DASH less than a year later. The location even had to contend with theft, as an unidentified woman made off with $1,600 worth of merchandise!
It just seems like bad things keep happening to these stores. Perhaps moving the DASH store completely online could be the best way to avoid such unpleasantness in the future.
DASH peaked as a profitable business
Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the ongoing DASH dilemma is how much work the Kardashians put into the franchise. In a heartfelt confession, Khloé Kardashian shared that she and her sisters worked very hard to keep DASH afloat. For the first few years, they routinely struggled with a lack of funds. "We started DASH in 2006," said Khloé, "and really struggled for a long time to make it a successful business. There were months we couldn't pay our bills, and the store didn't turn a profit for years."
Things seemed to improve gradually as the Kardashian clan amassed their global fame. "Everything went into DASH," said Khloé, "but we were really determined and kept working at it [and] eventually, it paid off." However, Kourtney Kardashian herself noted in KUWTK that the stores are struggling to stay relevant and on-trend. If DASH stores' best days are behind them, then what does that mean for the Kardashian franchise as a whole?
It could be more profitable to sell their DASH stores
In the appropriately named season 13 premiere episode "Time To Dash," the Kardashians weighed the option of selling off DASH. As far as Kim was concerned, the DASH empire was beyond being salvaged.
"The store is really past putting any money into it," she declared. By selling their chain to a department store, it seemed the siblings would have the chance to say goodbye to worrying over the state of the boutiques. They would also make a nice profit. While both Kim and Khloé were on board, Kourtney refused to consider the idea. As she later shared with Kim, DASH had strong sentimental value.
For now, it seems the Kardashian sisters have decided to hang on to certain locations while saying goodbye to the Soho store for good. We don't know as of now what will happen to the rest of the DASH stores in the near future. The KUWTK episode suggested the New York store would close, while the Miami boutique would remain open; thus far, that's exactly what's happened. However, should things grow more dire for the business, it's entirely possible the sisters may cave and agree to sell DASH.
A possible silver lining for fans of DASH
While the phyiscal locations might be in danger, it's important to remember that DASH does have an online store. With all the headaches associated with their physical stores, the Kardashians really could turn to exclusively selling their DASH merchandise online. It will no doubt be disappointing to Kardashian fans to see the brick-and-mortar part of the business go. Still, an online site would mean that DASH wouldn't go completely away.
Assuming there's another season of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, it may take us as long to learn the final fate of DASH stores.
The Kardashians have gone into hiding
Here's a first: these days, the Kardashians seem less interested in the spotlight than, you know, they normally do. But in their defense: it's actually for good reasons. Over the last couple of years, it seems like the entire family has dealt with one personal tragedy after the next. Kim, for example, was robbed of millions of dollars worth of jewelry inside her Paris hotel room. Khloe, meanwhile, has been dealing with the fallout from a lengthy divorce from her ex-husband, Lamar Odom, who overdosed in 2015. As for Kourtney, well, she's still trying to figure out her relationship with baby daddy Scott Disick. And that doesn't even begin to touch upon what's going on with Caitlyn Jenner, Kanye West, Kendall Jenner and beyond.
Put it this way: they have enough going on in their personal lives to worry about making an appearance at a local DASH store.
America seems interested in the younger Kardashians
Look out, Kim, Kourtney and Khloe: there's a new group of Kardashian sisters in town! Yep, for better or worse, America has suddenly become obsessed with the girls' younger half-sisters, Kendall and Kylie Jenner, who are quickly launching business empires of their own. Even though she has questionable taste in television commercials, Kendall is already becoming one of the world's most sought-after models. As for Kylie, her makeup empire is making her dollar, after dollar after dollar. Could this simply be another case of "out with the old, in with the new"?