Kylie posted a tweet on Wednesday, and by Thursday, the shares of the parent company Snapchat declined 6.1%, thereby reducing market value by $ 1.3 billion.
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Jenner isn’t the only celebrity who has been vocal about disliking the redesign.
Jenner was giving high-profile voice to a view shared by more than a million users of the app: that they hate the redesign and want the old Snapchat back.
Snapchat is facing intense competition from Facebook’s Instagram – especially for celebrity users – and Ms Jenner’s attack comes at a time when investors are already anxious. With over 128 million followers combined on Instagram and Twitter, the Kylie Cosmetics CEO is one of the most influential social media users – whether you like it or not.
In 2017, Jenner hosted a series on Snapchat called “Ask Kylie” where she fielded questions from fans about her career, family drama, and breakups. She softened the initial blow with a later tweet that said, “still love you tho snap…my first love”. However, a social influencer like Jenner with millions of followers still has her Stories featured in the Discover section.
A representative for Maybelline, which joined Snapchat in 2015, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But out of all the social media platforms available, Kylie Jenner has historically preferred the millennial-dominated Snapchat above all the others. Shares popped in opening salvos but are now 0.31 per cent up at $17.41 a share.
Snapchat explained their redesign that the company was trying to make it easier to connect with friends and the people care about most. “The new Friends page will get smarter and adapt to you over time, reflecting who you are most likely to be Snapping with at that time”.
More: Why has Kylie Jenner quit Snapchat?
Redesigned Snapchat is here to stay despite 1.2million users actually hating it.
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Three days ago, United States bank Citigroup (NYSE: C – news) downgraded Snap from “neutral” to “sell” in response to the reaction to the redesign. Raymond James downgraded the stock in January, and just two days ago Citigroup followed suit by lowering its price target to $14 a share.
