Gymshark founder and chief executive Ben Francis has said the long-term future of the brand is on the high street and physical stores.

Ben Francis

Ben Francis: ‘The UK, despite what a lot of people are saying, is an absolutely brilliant place to do business’

“When we take a step back and look at building a truly long-term brand, I think it’s omnichannel. There’s a big opportunity to step into the offline market in physical stores,” Francis told LBC. 

Gymshark opened doors to its first physical store spanning 18,000 sq ft on London’s Regent Street in October last year. 

On the process of starting and growing a business in the UK, Francis said: “Starting a business is incredibly difficult; however, I feel fortunate and blessed to have grown up in the UK. 

“We’ve got a great economy, you can sell to lots of people in a small condensed area, we can ship the next day into Europe, we can ship quickly into the United States. 

“I think that the UK, despite what a lot of people are saying at the moment, is an absolutely brilliant place to do business.” 

In its latest trading update for the year ending in July 2022, Gymshark posted a fall in profits for the first time despite an increase in revenue, 

The sportswear retailer posted a 39% fall in profit before tax to £27.8m despite 21% sales growth to £484m. 

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