By Emily Hawkins
Gen Z sportswear retailer Gymshark is set to make its venture into physical retail this autumn, revealing the opening date of its Regent St flagship.
The online brand is to open up shop at 165 Regent St on Saturday 1 October, after huge success over the last few years.
Gymshark store on Regent Street will open its doors to our community on Saturday 1 October 2022.
Gymshark pocketed a £45.4m pre-tax profit in the year to July 2021, with its 29-year old founder Ben Francis rising in the Sunday Times Rich List, ranking 226nd.
At the 18,000 sq ft store, shoppers will be able to enjoy a studio called the Sweat Room, for exercise classes and larger events, alongside being able to buy clothes.
The studio will offer 30 classes per week and open at 7am daily.
There will also be a bar known as The Pro Bench for fitness advice appointments with experts offering 25 minute sessions offering help on personal training.
It will also feature The Hub, including space for podcasts, workshops and screenings, to aid the community.
Cafe brand Joe and The Juice is also opening a venue at the store, for pre and post workout food and drinks.
The prospect of a flagship store on “one of the most prestigious streets in the world” was “all getting very real,” founder and CEO Francis said.
“The team have done an absolutely incredible job creating a store like no other and the experiences are going to be unbelievable,” he added.
“But what I’m most excited about, especially after the past couple of years, is that we get to hang out with our amazing community on a daily basis. I cannot wait.”
The CEO and founder, who has a net stake of 70 per cent in Gymshark created the brand as a teenager in 2012.
Gymshark’s Francis sold a 21 per cent stake to private equity General Atlantic in August 2020.
t comes as there has been a flurry of speculation over the possibility of the brand making a blockbuster public float, after receiving a £1bn valuation.
City sources told Sky News the company had been “aggressively” pitched to by investment banks, last October. They said an initial public offering of its shares would most likely be in London.
Founder Francis told CityA.M. in November 2021 that there were no “imminent” plans for a public listing of the company.
“What we’re doing is we’re just chatting to banks to educate ourselves of our options. Nothing imminent,” Francis said, speaking at an event to announce US entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk joining the company’s board.
Discussions on a float were focusing on “the next few years as we continue to grow,” he added.
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