Retail

Fitness company Gymshark: From online pure-play to omnichannel success

By 9 April 2025

Gymshark store

This is how Ben Francis became a billionaire with a niche brand.

When Gymshark, a new fitness clothing brand, was launched in the UK in 2012, no one, probably not even the founders, knew where it was going. In 2020, General Atlantic, a US private equity firm, acquired a 21 percent stake in the company, paying £200 million for it. Gymshark became a unicorn—one of the first startups to break the $1 billion valuation barrier. Today, it is an integral part of the online and offline gym community. Here is our Case Study.

+ Success formula: community-centric branding – previously only online, now also offline

+ Focus sharpening: gym brand, not activewear brand

+ International expansion with pop-up and flagship stores

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