Gymshark recently announced that they would be adding a store to their repertoire, alongside their booming online presence. Following the success of their 4-week pop-up Covent Garden store in Feb 2020, the online fitness giant will now be opening its very first flagship store in London’s Regent Street in the summer of 2022.
Not only have they opened the store in the heart of the capital, but they have also signed a 10-year lease for this 18,000 sq ft location. With a social media community of 17 million, how do Gymshark intend to encapsulate the brand in a brick and mortar store? With headlines dominated by the demise of the high street, and parcel companies and online retailers alike able to report on their business growth throughout the pandemic, what value do Gymshark believe they will add to their brand with this store?
CEO & Founder, Ben Francis, revealed he was a big fan of physical stores and wanted to have a permanent “offline space” for a while. It seems that Gymshark’s first real-life shop is more than just a place to buy the brand’s products, with Ben explaining that “young people are much more focused on ‘in real life’ things that are part of the community they want to be in” as opposed to online, enabling customers to feel, touch and understand the brand.
Noel Mack, Chief Brand Officer, added:
“Physical is much more tangible, and not everyone is completely okay with shopping online. Younger customers certainly lean into it, but some audiences aren’t as comfortable with e-commerce”.
Could this be Gymshark looking not only to create a sense of community and familiarity but also broaden their audience to include age groups less comfortable with online shopping? Perhaps so, as Gymshark has also made reference to a gap in the market for technology products right now, so this could potentially be another area for the brand to dominate.
With the Metaverse incoming and the world becoming more and more digital by the day, this store will become a permanent fixture alongside some of the biggest brands in the world, in one of Europe’s most famous capital cities. It’ll be interesting to see how the company grows with this brick and mortar store becoming a part of their previously solely-digital portfolio.
