// Gymshark continues to ramp up its North American business and demand remains strong across cities including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami
// Sales are on track to reach £250 million in the US as global revenues reach £500 million
North America is on track to hit almost £250 million in sales for activewear giant Gymshark out of about £500 million worldwide sales in the year to July.
The US is already Gymshark’s biggest market outside the UK but founder and chief executive Ben Francis believes there is huge growth ahead of it in the US.
He told The Times: “I think we currently occupy about 0.6% of the market, from a fitness perspective, in the US,” the group’s co-founder and chief executive said.
“There’s obviously massive, massive room for growth.”
Gymshark’s president for North America Henry Spears said that although trading had slowed from the “momentous” levels seen during lockdown, the business continues to grow at a double-digit pace.
Global sales of £500 million would be around 14% up year on year against the £437.6 million achieved in 2021.
READ MORE:
- In pictures: Why Gymshark has opened its ‘Deload’ barbershop
- Gymshark poaches The Very Group’s CMO to make the brand a household name
- Gymshark profits rise as founder Ben Francis climbs up Sunday Times Rich List
Gymshark opened its first North American HQ last year in Denver, Colorado which Francis – who spends a week a month working in the US – said was integral to its growth in the country.
He told the newspaper: “If you treat the US like the UK, it’s not going to work. It’s a different working culture, it’s a different size of market; it’s much larger than the UK market. It’s much more competitive, in many respects.”
Spear said a UK-focused company can launch something in London that has a “ripple effect” that spans much of the country. In contrast, “if I do something in Miami, someone in Los Angeles might not even hear about it”.
Gymshark is particularly popular in big metropolitan areas such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami.
The activewear brand has grown from 10 employees in the US 18 months ago to more than 130 now. Spear expects it to have around 200 US staff next year.
Gymshark’s US expansion is being powered by its fundraising with private equity group General Atlantic acquiring a 21% in August 2020, which valued the business at more than £1 billion.
Francis does not expect to raise further funds at the moment and continues to talk down the prospect of a public listing.
“Why would Gymshark not continue to grow organically?” Francis told The Times. “Do we want to be a public business, or are we better suited as a private business? Is there the opportunity for us to do something else?
“This is where, over the next — whatever it is — 12, 24, 36 months, I need to understand exactly what the opportunities are for us, and whether or not an IPO is the right next step for this business.”
Francis, which is due to open Gymshark’s first physical store on London’s Regent Street this summer, said he would love to follow suit in America. “I think the opportunity for offline [retail] in the US for us is huge, as well.”
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
