If you go to the gym, you’ll see many different clothing brands worn by the people working out. Some of the brands that are always popular and worn by many are Nike, Adidas, and Under Armor. However, a brand that has quickly swam to the top and is becoming more and more popular in the workout community is Gymshark. The brand was started in 2012 by Ben Francis while he attended college at Aston University in England and since then, has been expanding every year since.
How it Started:
At the age of 19, Francis created Gymshark in his dorm room. However, he did not start his brand with selling clothing. The brand started out by selling supplements from other retailers. Nevertheless, Francis saw a need in the fitness industry. He did not like the style of clothing other brands had and thought he could fill that need. As a result, when he had saved enough money, he purchased a screen printer and sewing machine. He did not know how to sew, but quickly learned from his grandmother. Francis began selling his clothing on the Gymshark website and to his friends and family. Although he was not very successful, Francis loved what he was doing and wanted to grow. He started to send his products to YouTube fitness creators with big followings. Lex Griffith was the first sponsored Gymshark athlete and he advertised their gear to his subscribers. This is what started to blow up the brand and by the end of 2012, they were not making enough product to keep up with the demand of their customers.
Where Francis has taken the company:
Since Francis started the company in 2012, Gymshark’s sales has grown every year since. The brand did $500,000 in sales in 2013 and that grew to $52 million by the end of 2017! More recently in August, the company was valued at $1.3 billion in their first investment round. Francis was able to grow the brand so 
large and so quickly because of a few strategies. First, Gymshark does not over saturate with their clothes. They have limited releases with their clothing and most of their releases sell out very quickly. Besides their core clothing with just simple branding (which is always stocked), Gymshark creates cool designs and graphics for their clothes. Once these items sell out, they do not come back. This exclusivity creates high demand for consumers. Next, Gymshark only sells on their website and not through an intermediary which helps to keep costs down. This direct relationship with the customers makes the buying experience more personal as well. Finally, Francis was able to grow Gymshark because of their massive social media following. Their Instagram account boasts 4.7 million followers currently and showcases their sponsored athletes, customers, and general lifting how to’s. Because of all of this, Gymshark shows no sign of slowing down and growing even larger. All of this due to a college student who started a company at the age of 19 in his dorm room.
To go from $500,000 to $52 MILLION in just 4 years is incredible. Its pretty interesting that they only sell through their own website as well. However doing that may limit their potential… before reading this post I was unaware of Gymshark’s existence. This is primarily due to me doing almost all of my athletic apparel shopping at Dick’s Sporting Goods. But if Gymshark was sold at places like Dick’s, then it wouldn’t be as exclusive and it would take away from the brand’s image.