Ben Francis, the UK’s youngest billionaire, plans to open more physical stores for the Gymshark fitness wear brand that made his fortune.
(Bloomberg) — Ben Francis, the UK’s youngest billionaire, plans to open more physical stores for the Gymshark fitness wear brand that made his fortune.
We’re “looking at more” new stores, Gymshark’s founder and chief executive officer said Monday in an interview with Bloomberg Radio. “I don’t know what that looks like now, but these are conversations we’re going to be having over the next few weeks internally.”
The comments follow Francis, 30, opening Gymshark’s first physical outlet on London’s Regent Street in October featuring a gym, juice bar and hangout areas. The firm now operates across online and traditional retail platforms to sell items including £40 women’s leggings and £18 men’s t-shirts.
“We actually signed that deal at the height of Covid,” Francis said of the London store. “There was a lot of uncertainty, but it felt like the right thing to do given our long-term aspirations to build out a 100-year brand.”
Francis founded Gymshark in 2012 in his parents’ garage near the company’s current headquarters in Solihull, England while still a university student, relying on web sales to build up the company. Gymshark’s revenue reached £484.5 million ($605 million) in the year through July 2022, according to registry filings.
US private equity firm General Atlantic bought a 21% stake in Gymshark in 2020 that valued the brand at more than £1 billion. At the time, Francis also boosted his stake to about 70%, which is worth about $1.2 billion based on the company’s internal pricing for its shares last year, making him the UK’s youngest billionaire, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Francis said his business will continue to seek expansion in the US, which accounts for about half of his company’s sales, and ruled out any plans in the near future for an initial public offering.
“In terms of IPOs, we’re not there yet,” he said. “The main focus for us right now is building out the best brand we can.”
–With assistance from Dani Burger, Tom Mackenzie and Katie Linsell.
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