In 2020, then-28-year-old Ben Francis became Britain’s youngest self-made billionaire when his athletic apparel brand, Gymshark, hit a valuation of $1.3 billion after receiving an investment from private equity behemoth General Atlantic.
Now, the 32-year-old is setting his sights on New York City.
He’s building out a 13,000-square-foot store on Bond Street that will open later this year.
“I love New York … It’s the perfect place for Gymshark, and I’m honored to call it our North American home,” he told me, adding, “We have to be successful in the U.S. in order for us to be successful around the world,”
The NYC flagship underscores his belief that a brand’s presence in the real world is nearly as important as its footprint in the digital world.
While Francis built his business online when he first launched in 2012, he sees a physical retail presence as crucial to its future.
In 2022, he opened Gymshark’s first store on Regent Street in London. Last year he expanded to Dubai, and, in late 2024, Gymshark opened a NY pop-up store on Wooster Street in SoHo. The company has also announced plans to expand to Manchester and Amsterdam.
Though Gymshark is private and doesn’t disclose its financials, Francis said the success of the pop-up was enough to give him confidence to establish a permanent footprint here.
The city “has been so supportive of our brand vision” and “there’s a big opportunity for us to be more visible offline,” Francis said. “People can finally see and feel the product we’re so proud of … I think physical brick-and-mortar stores are actually sort of a new and different way for us to reach people.”
Gymshark has made its retail experience unique with stores that have workout rooms, personal training sessions and enough space to host events and allow customers to socialize.
The $25 billion gym clothing market is a highly competitive one. Outdoor Voices and Olympia Sports have gone bankrupt, while established companies such as Lululemon and Nike are duking it out with younger brands such as Alo Yoga, Beyond Yoga, and Vuori. But, Francis has managed to grow his clothing line with just a handful of leggings, sweats, and workout shirts that have remained consistent.
He credits the community that he — and a handful of early gym influencers he sent products to — have built.
Francis, who grew up in the West Midlands of England, worked odd jobs in high school and started half a dozen companies by age 18.
But, several of the apps he created failed, so, with Gymshark, he wanted to create a company with physical products. He also wanted to make something that would enhance his own gym experience — workout clothes made with materials that were breathable, sweat-wicking, and odor-reducing.
He enlisted his grandmother to teach him sewing, and the two began using her sewing machine to fill orders.
Francis told me that the initial popularity of the brand was due in part to influencer marketing.
“When I was getting into the gym, all the people I learned the most from were online on YouTube,” he explained. “When Gymshark started, we ended up sending product to a few of my heroes at the time that were on YouTube.”
He also had a genuine passion for fitness and his product.
“People nowadays are interested in a behind-the-scenes of the business, especially when they’re putting their hard-earned money on the line to purchase with a business or a brand,” he said. “They want to know who’s behind the scenes, who’s running it, and what the story is behind it.”
When he launched Gymshark, e-commerce was in its infancy. Shopify was just gaining traction, and influencer marketing was relatively new.
“It was a very different place back then,” he said. “I think that the biggest YouTuber and fitness influencer at the time had about 20,000 subscribers.
He gave some of his influencers an equity stake in the company, so they had a vested interest in growing Gymshark
And as the company grows — it now has more than 20 million followers on its social media platforms — the community and the brand remain consistent.
“If we can be the best in this narrow space,” he says, “that’s what will carry us forward.”
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