RIP Dash stores: A brief history of the Kardashian Dash boutiques

The Kardashian Dash stores are closing! After 12 years, Kim Kardashian announced that she and her sisters have decided to close their Dash boutiques for good. Dash first opened in Calabasas, California, and was the first Kardashian imprint on the world — though Kim explained in a post on her website that the Kardashian women have all become too “busy” being moguls and moms to continue owning the small chain of clothing boutiques.

“After nearly 12 years, my sisters and I have decided to close the doors of our DASH stores, Kim shared on her website. “We opened our first store as a family in 2006 and since then we have made so many lifelong memories. From opening locations in Los Angeles, Miami and New York, to having our Dash Dolls spin-off show, it’s been such a huge part of our lives.

RIP Dash — let us memorialize this tragic moment in the Kardashian legacy with a brief history of the small retail chain.

How many dash stores are there?

The first store opened in the Kardashian hometown of Calabasas in 2006 but closed in 2012. They opened a Dash in the SoHo area of Manhattan, but that one closed in 2016. There was also a pop-up in the Hamptons over the summer of 2014. West Hollywood and Miami Beach are the only two remaining stores.

Speaking of that original Calabasas store…

Who worked there?

Once upon a time, the three sisters actually worked in the Calabasas store. “Kourt, Kim and I were the only employees and really had no idea what we were doing…[we] 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,” Khloe revealed in a candid post in 2016 (via Us Weekly). At one point, Khloe’s BFFs Malika and Khadijah Haqq ran the West Hollywood store.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64N0h07HPWE?feature=oembed

During the store’s heyday, the Kardashians even walked in Dash fashion shows.

The Dash stores inspired their own breed of reality series.

Who could forget Kourtney and Khloé Take the Hamptons, a show that existed so that the sisters could open a pop-up Dash boutique in the bougie beach city. There was also the short-lived Dash Dolls reality series in 2015 that attempted to introduce us to a new crop of reality stars but was canceled after a season.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i_qPEKrbVk?feature=oembed

Despite all this, the West Hollywood location was plagued with issues.

The Kardashians attempted to expand the brand by opening a West Hollywood location in 2012, but the store found itself repeatedly under attack. A man attempted to burn down the West Hollywood location in June 2016 and a woman threatened the employees with a gun in September 2017.

Eventually, Kim and Khloe were over it.

In a March 2017 episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, the sisters argued over the fate of the stores. “Who cares about the stores?” said Khloe, to which Kourtney countered, “I feel like it’s sentimental. After Dad passed away, having Dash really gave us something to do together as sisters and kept us together.”

“Kourtney’s delusional,” exclaimed Kim. “I think the store is really past us putting more money into it.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6dzvA5Hmgo?start=22&feature=oembed

And in April of 2018, Kim and Khloe got their wish and closed the Dash stores for good. RIP to a legend.