Gymshark says its first 2 permanent US stores are ‘only the beginning’ of its footprint in the country
Gymshark’s first two permanent U.S. stores — both of which will open in the next two months in New York state — are “only the beginning” of the British activewear brand’s expanded footprint in the country, Gymshark’s global gm of wholesale, retail and franchise, Hannah Mercer, told Modern Retail.
The first location, at Roosevelt Field mall on Long Island, will open on Oct. 11 and serve as a concept store, at 4,000 square feet. The second location, on Bond Street in Manhattan, will open in December and be a flagship store, at 13,000 square feet. The latter will have four floors, with a full selection of merchandise, along with live events and workout studios. Both stores come on the heels of Gymshark’s earlier New York City pop-ups, which ran in March 2017, December 2024 and May 2025.
The two U.S. stores are a notable development for Gymshark, which began as an online-only brand in 2012 but has been building its physical retail presence over the last three years. In 2022, it opened its first permanent physical store on Regent Street in London, a location that has since posted “double-digit year-on-year growth,” Mercer said. Now, Gymshark is looking to gain a firmer hold on the U.S. market, which accounts for about 50% of the brand’s overall sales, all through e-commerce.
Going forward, Gymshark will be plotting additional U.S. locations, moving from “east to west,” Mercer said. However, the brand isn’t in a rush to plant its flag all over the 50 states. “We’re not after a quick return, in terms of revenue growth,” said Mercer, who joined Gymshark in 2024 from Adidas. “We’re doing this intentionally because, ultimately, our goal is to be a 100-year-old brand, and to do that, you don’t want to over-expand. We’re curating ourselves to be relevant in the markets and cities that our consumer is in.”
Gymshark is hoping these moves will help it stand out in a market crowded with everyone from Adidas and Nike to Vuori and Tracksmith. So far, it has made progress; Gymshark reported record revenue of £607.3 million for its year ending in July 2024, up from £556.2 million the previous year.
Still, the brand has struggled with profits. Its fiscal year ending July 2024 marked the third straight year of pre-tax profit decline, likely from its omnichannel expansion efforts. And, the same day it announced its record revenue, Gymshark announced that 296 roles — almost a third of its total workforce — were “at risk of redundancy.” The company told the U.K. fashion publication Drapers that it was also creating 168 new roles to “help drive future growth.”
Today, most of Gymshark’s business still comes from e-commerce, although the brand has been growing in-store sales. In addition to its London flagship, Gymshark has five other permanent stores: three in the U.K., one in Amsterdam and one in Dubai. It also has two outlet locations in England and Amsterdam.
Learnings from Gymshark’s other locations, Mercer said, have shaped the company’s vision for its U.S. stores — everything from “operational setup to staffing models to product proposition.” It will also use its Roosevelt Field location as a “blueprint” for other U.S. locations. But the company is also drawing from its past U.S. pop-ups to confirm what customers want. Chief among these is “hyper-local product customers can’t get anywhere else,” Mercer said.
Now, Gymshark is bringing that approach to its New York stores; approximately 10% of the merchandise in the flagship will be bespoke for that location, including apparel. At Roosevelt Field, that percentage will drop under 10%, primarily because of space restrictions. The Roosevelt Field store will primarily have the brand’s hero products, like the Vital collection for women and the Power collection for men.
Opening more physical retail stores stands to boost Gymshark’s larger business, as the brand sees its e-commerce sales go up when it opens a new location. That’s not unusual; per data from the ICSC, opening a new store leads to a 6.9% increase in a brand’s online sales in that trade area. For direct-to-consumer brands, that doubles to 13.9% after a store opening.
Gymshark’s larger bet on physical retail “doesn’t come as a surprise,” ICSC’s vp of research, Stephanie Cegielski, told Modern Retail. “We’re increasingly seeing both legacy and direct-to-consumer brands move into or expand their brick-and-mortar spaces,” she said.
In New York, Gymshark is establishing stores in two very different locations: a high-street store for Bond Street and a shopping center for Roosevelt Field. Roosevelt Field is located in an upscale neighborhood and is the second-largest shopping mall in New York state, with tenants including Burberry, Gorjana and Edikted.
For a brand like Gymshark, there are distinct benefits to having these two types of locations, according to Cegielski. “High-street stores offer visibility in iconic urban locations,” she said. Meanwhile, shopping centers tend to resonate with locals, as well as some tourists. They have “added foot traffic, drawn in by other tenants,” Cegielski said.
As it builds its business in the U.S., Gymshark is looking beyond stores, too. It’s hoping to establish wholesale relationships in the country, ideally with those carrying other fitness brands, Mercer said. In June 2024, Gymshark also opened a head office in the U.S., in New York City’s Soho neighborhood. And, in September 2024, it hosted its biggest event in New York City to date, called Lift:NYC, which drew 7,500 members of the fitness community.
“We’re investing in the [U.S.] market because we know our consumer and our community is here, and we need to serve them,” Mercer said.