Mark’s favourites: Gymshark Pop-Up Sets the Stage for US Flagship

We’ve been following British gym fashion and accessories brand ever since it opened its first London store on Regent Street and in November Gymshark landed in SoHo, Manhattan with a three-month pop-up designed not just to create some brand excitement for the holiday season but to prepare the retailer for its first US store.

It opened up on 16 November with its pop-up located at 105 Wooster Street, which remained open until the end of January ahead of a permanent flagship New York store, expected to open in 2025, which could be the first of a number across major US cities, plus further afield such as the two already announced in Dubai Mall in the UAE. and The Kalverstraat in Dutch capital Amsterdam in the spring.

In its home market, it will add to its two current stores with new openings at the Trafford Centre, Manchester and Westfield White City, London mall openings.

Gymshark opened its US headquarters in SoHo earlier this year and the Wooster Street pop-up store features exclusive merchandise, Gymshark classics, plus some special holiday-related props. The pop-up was planned for three months and switched from holiday mode in January.

“For us, physical retail has shown real green shoots, and has gone really well. So we're doubling down on that, and we're trying to do even more innovative things,” Gymshark Chief Brand Officer Noel Mack told me. “I can't think in the UK with Regent Street, London, of a better way to show up for our community than by putting up a store which changes to a gym on Europe's most prestigious shopping street. To say that we are the gym brand, and we do gym. So with all that in mind, the next obvious step for us is New York.”

Mack admits that it is a potentially big commitment, given that it is still chiefly online and has just two stores open. But he said that the company has a test and learn approach, which will be the same for the holiday pop-up in New York.

“Let's see how New York reacts, and then we can use that to solidify our plans for a full-time retail presence in New York next year. The first day when we opened the pop-up, it was absolutely insane. People waited eight hours in line to get in. It was very reassuring in Birmingham [Gymshark's global base is in the East Midlands, England] to see that, especially when you're staring down the barrel of some of these big, expensive leases on buildings in New York,” Mack said.

“But this will be the second time we're doing it. The first time in London was the first store we ever opened. We've made our mistakes there with things that we thought would work that didn't. We've tested. We've learned. We know what works really well. We know what isn't so great. So it will be our second iteration of those headline grabbing, new retail experiences.”