GYMSHARK

International Marketing Plan

Olivia Judd

MS5301
3004 Words
Contents

Summary ........................................................................................................................... 2
Introduction....................................................................................................................... 2
The Company ..................................................................................................................... 3
Market Selection ............................................................................................................... 5
Selection of Relevant Segmentation Criteria ...................................................................... 7
Entry Mode ........................................................................................................................ 8
Marketing Plan .................................................................................................................. 9
Conclusion and Recommendations................................................................................... 11
Appendix One .................................................................................................................. 12
Appendix Two .................................................................................................................. 13
Appendix Three ............................................................................................................... 14
Appendix Four ................................................................................................................. 15
Appendix Five .................................................................................................................. 16
Appendix Six .................................................................................................................... 17
Appendix Seven ............................................................................................................... 19
Appendix Eight ................................................................................................................ 20
Appendix Nine ................................................................................................................. 20
Appendix Ten ................................................................................................................... 21
Appendix Eleven .............................................................................................................. 21
Appendix Thirteen ........................................................................................................... 22
Appendix Fourteen .......................................................................................................... 23
Reference List: ................................................................................................................. 24

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Summary
Gymshark has been growing since 2012 and hopes to continue to expand. Ben Francis
recently decided that in order to grow even further, he will be opening Gymshark’s first
physical store in London (Gymshark, 2022). Throughout this report, multiple evaluations are
conducted to determine the current global positioning of Gymshark and the suitability of
particular markets for an international expansion. Following the analysis, a relevant entry
mode is chosen, then an international marketing plan is produced to explain how Gymshark
could successfully expand into the market.

Introduction
Solberg (1997) proposes a framework for the analysis of strategic development in
globalizing markets. It focuses on the global structure of an industry and suggests how
prepared a firm is for an internationalisation. In response to this, Gymshark’s international
sales ratio and market presence is high compared to their competition suggesting that they
are prepared for further internationalisation. Consequently, the business must now
strengthen their global position to expand further however, in doing so they must ensure
that they remain committed to the foreign markets which they already operate in.

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The Company
In 2012 two school friends, Ben Francis and Lewis Morgan, created Gymshark in a small
garage in Birmingham with nothing but a sewing machine and a screen printer (Gymshark,
2012). Gymshark is now ‘one of the fastest growing and most recognisable fitness brands’
supported by millions of social media followers and customers in over 200 countries
(Gymshark, No Date).

The current positioning of Gymshark is portrayed in appendix ten where it is clear that there
are many alternative brands which have a similar marketing mix and therefore positioned
closely to Gymshark. The original marketing mix demonstrates the Price, Place, Promotion
and Product of a company (McCarthy, 1945). Appendix nine demonstrates this for Gymshark
where it is summarised that the company is eager to expand their product portfolio by
focussing on vegan friendly clothing, priced affordably to focus on attracting all ages. The
expanding company is also planning to go further, Gymshark is hoping to open a physical
store in the UK by the Summer of 2022.

A SWOT analysis was conducted (see appendix seven) to outline the internal and external
factors of Gymshark (Emet Gürel, 2017). In comparison to their competitors, Gymshark
portrays a very effective marketing approach where as well as encouraging their consumers
to purchase the products, the business also motivates customers to remain healthy; for
example, in 2021 they introduced a ‘66 day keep fit challenge’. The main opportunity for
Gymshark, which is in consideration, would be to become an offline as well as an
ecommerce organisation; this would allow consumers that don’t have a connection to the
internet to access the products. Gymshark’s main competitor, Nike, has adopted a similar
approach to this however they use a more competitive pricing approach.

The PESTLE analysis of Gymshark’s macro-environment shown in appendix six represents

the external factors which are uncontrollable by the business (Cadle et al, 2021). As for
many other businesses, leaving the European Union impacted Gymshark particularly due to
the online organisation relying on exporting their orders to over 200 countries. According to
Dale (2021), businesses have been required to pay 42% more in custom duties on goods

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since Brexit came into force. This cost increase will be impacting Gymshark along with the
future corporation tax increase rising to 25% in April 2023 (HM Revenues & Customs, 2022).
The majority of Gymshark’s promotion is focused on social media platforms which allows
the business to be heard across the world; according to Chaffey (2022) in January it was
reported that 58% of the global population now uses social media. The Coronavirus
pandemic impacted Gymshark in both a positive and negative way. The government
encouraged the public to ‘Stay at Home’ resulting in a 39% reduction of consumers visiting
the gym; however, Gymshark noticed a rise in home workout clothing and equipment sales
(Francis, 2020). Similarly, in response to the restrictions, online retail sales increased to 36%
compared to 19% before the pandemic (Aashind, 2021). Gymshark must ensure that the
legal factors of maintaining an organisaion are met such as following the data protection
laws when the firm encourages their consumers to become a member with Gymshark; also
guaranteeing import and tariff tax on their supplies are payed.

Porter’s 5 forces framework shown in appendix eight determines the competitive strategy
Gymshark aims to manage. According to Statista (2019) Nike is the leader within the sport
fashion industry with sales reaching over $38 billion in 2019; consequently, it is important
that Gymshark maintains their USP in order to provide differentiated products to their
buyers. Gymshark offers a unique pricing strategy which attracts a wide range of consumers;
the threat of substitute products is high in such a competitive market meaning if Gymshark’s
competitors adopt a similar strategy the threat will increase. The threat of new market
entrants is also high in response to the recent increase of social media marketing which
gives businesses of all sizes more of an opportunity to promote to potential consumers.

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Market Selection

According to Hollensen (2019) identifying the correct market to enter is very important as it
can be the major determinant of success or failure in the early stages of an international
expansion. Hollensen (2019) further explains the process of selecting an international
market includes evaluating the characteristics of the potential markets as well as screening
the market segments.

When analysing Gymshark’s analytics it was found that the country sending the most traffic
to Gymshark’s website was the United States with over 36% of their customers found there
(Similarweb, 2022). Similarly, in 2019 around half of Gymshark’s turnover was generated
from the USA (Gymshark, 2022). According to Gymshark (2022) the company opened their
first Northern American office in 2019 followed by their first warehouse in July 2021. The
firm also plans to open another two distribution centres on the East Coast in the near future
with hopes that the new sites will allow Gymshark to reach most U.S. customers within
three days (Fashion Network, 2021). After evaluation, it was clear that the United States
would be a successful market to internationally expand into focusing particularly on the East
Coast to benefit from the planned distribution centres.

Górecka (2013) illustrates that the first stage of an international market screening is the use
of preliminary screening; this helps to identify the initial target markets which will require a
further investigation of their suitability (Root,1994). The beginning of market screening is
based on various criteria, this is shown in appendix thirteen for Miami and New York.

Both Miami and New York are found on the East coast of America meaning the new
distribution centres would be located close if Gymshark expanded into these areas. To
summarise the information found in appendix thirteen, it is clear that New York is a more
appropriate location to expand into. The state has a large population as well as GDP
compared to Miami; millions of visitors are attracted to New York every year particularly to
Fifth Avenue where stores including Macy’s, Nike and high designer fashion brands are
located. The table found in appendix fourteen shows that the cost of living in New York is
higher than Miami which includes clothing expenses however, the average household

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income is also larger than that in Miami making the expenses affordable. The CEO of
Gymshark has always aimed to connect with the community and encourage Gymshark’s
customers to get into fitness (Gymshark, 2021). The obesity rate in New York is 63%
meaning if Ben Francis is successful in communicating the ‘healthy lifestyle’ message
through Gymshark, there is potential for this rate to decrease.

The international Marketing Screening also allows a firm to assess its microenvironment as
well as the macroenvironment (Hollensen, 2014). To summarise the information in appendix
twelve, Gymshark is an online company which already operates internationally however, the
firm has not yet opened any physical retail stores. Gymshark is hoping to introduce their
first store located in London however after analysing the relevant criteria, opening a store in
New York would also be beneficial to the company.

Found in appendix one and three, the PESTLE analysis of both Miami and New York present
further reasoning as to why New York would be an appropriate market to select. Uzialjo
(2021) explains that there is a large pool of employees in New York due to the vast
population, this would be beneficial to Gymshark as new staff would be required to organise
the potential new store. In contrast, it is found that New York is an expensive area to
operate a company; the rent for a retail unit in Miami is much cheaper suggesting it would
be a higher financial risk to expand into New York. Furthermore, the Porter’s 5 Forces
analysis of Miami and New York (appendix two and four) show that Miami is America’s
healthiest City (Dominic, 2019) suggesting that entrepreneurs will notice the area as a
popular market segment for sport fashion; this implies that the threat of new entrants and
competition is high in Miami. Even though Gymshark’s competitors including Nike and
Adidas are located in Miami, there are a total of 754 clothing stores in New York including
Nike’s flagship store suggesting that there is a large base of consumers for fashion in the
area. Gymshark have adopted an affordable pricing strategy with the hope of attracting a
wider range of customers; even though this is suited to Miami who have a lower GDP, the
disposable income in New York is higher meaning Gymshark would make more sales in that
market. This strategy is also beneficial because although the threat of substitute products
and competition is high, the pricing is unique to Gymshark.

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Selection of Relevant Segmentation Criteria

As discussed earlier in the report, the PESTLE analysis contributed to the understanding of
the external environment of New York. However, segmenting the market will evaluate the
residents of New York as consumers for Gymshark. Dolnicar et al (2018) suggests that the
Demographic, Geographic, Behavioural and Psychographic are key areas of interest to a
business. Appendix five demonstrates these aspects in relation to the potential market
segmentation for Gymshark.

When the CEO of Gymshark was discussing the objectives for the business, it was explained
that expanding to the East of the USA was something he wanted to do. On average, 85% of
New York’s population uses social media; this matches Gymshark’s promotional techniques
as the leading method of advertising for Gymshark is done on social media platforms such as
Instagram and YouTube. The role of a sales associate is the most common profession in New
York (Zippia, 2021) meaning when Gymshark introduce their new store, new employees will
be easier to source. TripAdvisor (2022) reported that 5th Avenue in New York is the best
place to shop for clothes in the USA which attracts a large number of visitors; this would be
additional promotion for Gymshark’s consumers across the world.

In 2021 Gymshark introduced a fitness challenge encouraging their customers to adopt a

healthy lifestyle and upload their progress with a chance of winning a supply of Gymshark
products in return (Gymshark, 2022). The campaign was a success and gained over 1.9
million likes and recognition across multiple social media channels. New York can be
considered an ‘unhealthy’ state in America maintaining an obesity rate of 62%. Opening a
new store in New York will increase brand awareness for Gymshark potentially resulting in
engagement in the future fitness challenges which may benefit the obesity issue in the area.

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Entry Mode

For the international expansion to be a success, Gymshark must consider specific aspects
before deciding on their entry mode. Holenson (2019) states that four groups of factors are
believed to influence the entry mode decision in a specific country including the internal /
external factors, desired mode characteristics and the transaction-specific behaviour’.

When selecting New York to become the market for Gymshark to expand into, the external
factors were considered in the both the PESTLE and the Five Forces analysis found in
appendix three and appendix four. After comparing this with the SWOT analysis for
Gymshark (appendix seven) the opportunity to introduce a retail store in New York was
highlighted.

The figure produced by Holenson (2019) found in appendix Eleven demonstrates the three
classified groups of entry modes. The entry mode that Gymshark will choose is a
‘Hierarchical’ mode resulting in the highest control and risk but also the largest growth
potential. More specifically, Gymshark will be using a direct investment to enter New York
where they will have full ownership of a new retail store. This will create a large opportunity
for the company to expand resulting in access to new customers whilst offering an
alternative way to purchase Gymshark’s products. Gymshark’s Marketing Mix (appendix
nine) explains that the company currently only operates online which the SWOT analysis for
Gymshark (appendix seven) suggests is the main weakness for the business. Furthermore,
this mode of entry will positively impact Gymshark creating a higher competitive advantage
against alternative companies such as Nike and Adidas.

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Marketing Plan
Aim

Expand Gymshark in New York by Directly Investing into a new retail store to build a
stronger customer base while communicating a healthy lifestyle to the consumers of
Gymshark.

Objectives

• Have the new store in New York operating by Summer 2023 with a new team of
skilled and knowledgeable employees.

• Plan for an in-store event to be hosted when the shop opens in Summer 2023 to
promote the new retail store in New York, improving Gymshark’s Brand Awareness
and Customer base.

• Introduce an ‘Order Online and Pick up In Store for Free’ scheme for the new
location in New York when the store opens in Summer 2023.

Product

Following Gymshark’s current marketing mix (appendix nine), the brand must maintain their
unique-selling-point of providing comfortable sport clothing. However, with the hope of
minimising negative environmental impacts from the workplace (Gymshark, 2020),
Gymshark’s main focus will rely on its fully vegan and recyclable range.

Depending on the size of the retail unit, the store will aim to stock the original and popular
Gymshark products however, as the style demand changes throughout the different seasons
the product availably will also change to support the needs of the consumers.

Price

Gymshark currently prices their products from between £8- £100 which comparing to their
main competitor Nike is slightly cheaper. This is to target all ages of consumers particularly
the younger generation through the additional student discount.

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Even though the GDP in New York is high, Gymshark must maintain the same pricing
strategy across both the website and the store. This is important because it will allow the
customers to access the same products on both sales platforms however an in-store
purchase may also involve face-to-face advice from the Gymshark employees.

Place

The new store will operate in New York, specifically on 5th Avenue where many other
fashion shops are located. This will hope to increase the brand awareness and customer
base for Gymshark.

Promotion

With the aim of persuading the consumers of New York to become aware of the brand,
Gymshark will use specific methods to promote the new store successfully. The retail space
will begin the use of eye-catching window displays to allow the consumers to notice the
products as they pass by.

Developing an ‘Order Online and Pick up In Store for Free’ scheme will promote the new
physical store to Gymshark’s already existing customers in New York who currently shop
online. This will reduce the shipping costs and attract the consumers to purchase from the
store.

Using an in-store event is also an effective promotional technique which gives consumers
the opportunity to become more aware of Gymshark and its brand values which may attract
new customers to the business.

When the new store opens in New York, there will be a complementary £5 store voucher
given to the customers of Gymshark which can only be used in-store. This will hope to
encourage the residents of New York to purchase their product in-store rather than on
Gymshark’s website.

Gymshark will also use their social media platforms and website to advertise the new store
making the current customers aware of the expansion which may also encourage word-of-

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mouth communication. This will begin before the store opens to allow time for the
promotion to spread.

Implementation

The introduction of the new store will aim to take place by Summer 2023. This will allow
Gymshark to prepare for the expansion and ensure they have examined all of the legal
considerations.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Gymshark is a multinational corporation currently operating in many countries; the business

has proven that expanding internationally has been a success through the opening of
multiple offices and distribution centres across the world. To maximise the growth of the
company further, Gymshark should expand in the United States by opening a retail store
specifically in New York. The majority of Gymshark’s competitors such as Nike operate both
physical stores and online websites globally which forms a disadvantage for Gymshark as it
limits the access to consumers due to the fact not everybody has connection to the internet.
Opening a new store creates a huge opportunity for Gymshark which is expected to
positively impact their sales. Currently the CEO of the business is planning to open a store in
England which suggests that the firm believes they are in a strong financial position for the
direct investment.

The Marketing Mix for Gymshark will maintain unique to the company however this
expansion will increase the levels of promotion. Opening a new store offers new advertising
methods for Gymshark as different techniques can be used. This may create a competitive
advantage over rival brands such as Nike as the consumers in New York may be more
attracted to Gymshark’s pricing strategies with differ to Nike’s. The expansion increases the
areas of operation across the world for Gymshark allowing the business to grow further, this
will enhance the global experience and knowledge for Gymshark and may increase the
confidence of further expansions in the future.

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Appendix One- PESTLE Analysis of Miami.

Political • Unemployment rate – 3.2%

Economic • GDP - $311 Billion in the south of Florida.

• Average household income - $60,000.
• New York is 26% more expensive than Miami.
• For a 1,900 square foot retail space in Miami, the rent would cost
$3,642 a month.
• In September 2021 the minimum wage in Miami was $10 an hour.

Social • Average 24 million visitors per year.

Technological • New investors are launching Miami for its next growing tech hub.
According to Rivero (2021) Miami’s advantage is that it has a strong,
local network of entrepreneurs and investors who are committed to
building a Technologically advanced city for the long term. This will
help new entrants such as Gymshark because they will have a wider
selection of technology to use.

Legal • Gymshark would be expected to pay 5.5% corporate income tax for
their business.

Environmental • Miami is particularly susceptible to flooding from major rain events.

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Appendix Two- Porter’s 5 Forces Analysis of Miami.

Threat of New Entrants

• According to Dominic (2019) Miami is America’s Healthiest city. This suggests that
the fitness clothing industry is very popular and entrepreneurs will notice this as a
popular market segment.

Competitors

• Miami has multiple sportwear clothing stores including Nike, Adidas and
Lululemon.

Bargaining Power of Buyers

• There are multiple alternative brands in Miami suggesting the consumers have a
large bargaining power over Gymshark.

Threat of Substitute Products

• The affordable pricing strategy suits Miami due to the lower disposable income.

Bargaining power of Suppliers

• Gymshark manufacture a lot of their own clothing in their warehouses. Currently,

there is a warehouse in California which is only four hours away from Miami.
• Most of Gymshark’s products are manufactured in Pakistan and China where most
sportswear is. Gymshark have core values with their suppliers to ensure their
relationship remains professional and loyal.

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Appendix Three- PESTLE Analysis of New York.

Political • Unemployment rate – 7.6%

• New York maintains a tax code that often defers to the highest
relevant calculation to businesses (Uzialko, 2021).

Economic • GDP - $1.5 trillion

• Average household income - $67,000.
• Disposable income per capita - $62,773.
• New York is 26% more expensive than Miami.
• A store space on 5th avenue costs an average $4,000 per square
foot each month.
• The minimum wage in New York is $15 an hour.
• The cost of living in New York is higher than other states meaning
employees require higher compensation in order to live (Uzialko,
2021).

Social • Average 66.6 million visitors per year.

• A study has found that New York has the largest number of
Instagram influencers (1.2 million) (McClellan, 2020).
• 63% of people have obesity in NYC. The CEO aims to encourage
his consumers to keep fit, by operating in New York the obesity
rate may be reduced in response to Gymshark’s social media
fitness challenges.
• Uzialjo (2021) also adds that New York is home to many top
colleagues and a diverse population of skilled workers meaning
while skilled labour is in high demand, there is a large pool of
employees.

Technological • ‘New York is the most technologically advanced city in the USA’.

Legal • Gymshark would be expected to pay 7.25% corporate income tax

for their business.

Environmental • ‘New York is one of the lowest carbon emission states in the USA’
(Norton, 2020).

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Appendix Four- Porter’s 5 Forces Analysis of New York.

Threat of New Entrants

• High taxes and living costs make New York an expensive City to expand to (Uzialko,
2019) however generally this means consumers living or visiting NYC have a high
disposable income.
Competitors

• In New York there are many Flagship stores including Nike which has 7 floors on 5th
avenue street.
• In 2019, there were a total of 754 clothing and accessories stores in New York.
Bargaining Power of Buyers

• 35% of Gymshark’s website traffic was from the USA meaning consumers are
interested however these individuals have a high amount of bargaining power as
there is a wide range of alternative sportswear products in NYC.
Threat of Substitute Products

• Even though there are multiple brands similar to Gymshark, the affordable pricing
strategy is unique to Gymshark.

Bargaining power of Suppliers

• Gymshark manufacture their products in their own warehouse, the closest to New
York is 5 hours away in California

• Most of Gymshark’s products are manufactured in Pakistan and China where most
sportswear is. Gymshark have core values with their suppliers to ensure their
relationship remains professional and loyal.

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Appendix Five- Segmentation of New York.

GEOGRAPHIC According to TripAdvisor, the best place to shop in USA is New York in
particularly 5th avenue in the centre (TripAdvisor, 2022).
Fifth Avenue is one of the most famous shopping streets in the world
where brands including Nike and Apple have their flagship stores.
USA as a whole is very popular with Gymshark. 35% of Gymshark’s
website traffic is from the USA (Similarweb, 2022).
The CEO of Gymshark is hoping to open two new distribution stores
on the east coast of the USA meaning the delivery time will be shorter
if Gymshark expand to New York which is also on the East coast.
Similarly, when the CEO was discussing his aims for the company, he
explained that expanding to the North of the USA was something he
was hoping to do.

DEMOGRAPHIC In 2021 around 19.84 million people lived in New York with 12% of
this population aging between 35-44 years old and 53 % being female
(Statista, 2021).
In 2020 it was calculated that 3 million of the over 25-year-old
population in New York held a bachelor’s degree with the average
income being $32,320 (Statista, 2021).
The most common profession in New York is a sales associate with the
average disposable personal income per capita being $62,773
(Statista, 2021).

PSYCHOGRAPHIC The CEO of Gymshark hopes to communicate with the community and
connect with his consumer’s in order to encourage them to adopt a
healthy and fit lifestyle. With 62% of New York being obese, there is
potential for Gymshark to encourage consumers to get into fitness.

BEHAVIOURAL Turk (2019) found that on average people in New York spend $764 on
clothing per person.
85% of the population uses social media in the USA which supports
Gymshark’s marketing technique of using social media to promote
their products.

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Appendix Six- PESTLE Analysis of GYMSHARK.

• BREXIT- Studies have indicated that the UK exports to the EU could

fall by a third as a result of the new Brexit trade deal (Halo
Financial, 2021).
Political
• BREXIT- UK business and consumers have paid 42% more in
custom duties on goods since BREXIT came into force (Dale, 2021).
• COVID- meant that many workers had to work from home.
Gymshark noticed a rise in home workout clothing sales (Francis,
2020).
• COVID- It was encouraged to ‘Stay at Home’ meaning consumers
weren’t visiting the gym as much which may have impacted the
sales.
• The government has launched a campaign to help the public get
healthy by losing excess weight and getting active (Public Health
England, 2021).
• The current corporation tax rate stands at 19%; in April 2023 the
rate will increase to 25% (HM Revenues & Customs, 2022).
• The Consumer Price Index rose by 5.5% in the 12 months to
Economic January 2022 (Payne, 2022). This leads to lower levels of consumer
spending creating a fall in sales for businesses.
• After Russian forces invaded Ukraine the price of commodities
such as oil is likely to increase resulting in higher costs for the
business.
• “The pound has slumped 0.5% against the euro” (BBC News, 2022).
• The unemployment rate in the UK has declined to 3.9% in January
2022 (Statista, 2022). This is the lowest it has been in two years
and indicates that there will be an impact on consumer buying
habits.
• Average disposable income in the UK in 2020 was £31,400
(Statista, 2020) compared to £30,800 in 2020.

• Utility bills are set to increase by £700 this month making the
disposable income decrease for consumers.
• Gymshark focusses on social media promotion, in January 2022 it
was reported that 58.4% of the people in the world now uses
Social social media (Chaffey, 2022).
• COVID- in response to the pandemic, the ‘Stay at Home’ message
was introduced. This meant that all shopping had to be conducted

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 online which was a benefit for Gymshark as they are an
ecommerce business. Online retail increased to 35.2%.
• During COVID revenue in gyms declined by 39% however as the
restrictions have relaxed there has been a 68% increase in new
gym memberships meaning the demand for fitness wear will also
increase.
• The top social media networks which direct traffic to the Gymshark
website are YouTube (47%), Facebook (31%) and Instagram (8%)
(Similarweb, 2022).
• In 2020 the revenue for fitness apps increased by 84% and faced a
45% boost in users (Curry, 2022).
Technological
• According to Aashind (2021) 36% of retail sales in the UK were
purchased online compared to 19& before the pandemic.
• A large sum of money is required to be invested to ensure
Gymshark remains ‘up to date’ with the latest e-commerce
advances.
• Gymshark must ensure they are always following the ‘Health and
safety at work act 1974’.
Legal
• BREXIT has created a lot more legal paperwork to be completed
before importing and exporting to the EU. This results in delays in
shipment.
• Gymshark ship worldwide meaning their costs are high when it
comes to tariffs and import tax.
• Gymshark persuade their consumers to become a member which
involves entering their personal details; because of this Gymshark
must ensure they follow the data protection laws.
• Gymshark are “committed to be carbon neutral by 2030”. To do
this they are planning to switch to ‘zero carbon energy suppliers’,
Environmental ‘use recycled fibres in their products’, and aim to ‘use 100%
recyclable packaging’ (Gymshark, 2022).
• New research shows there is a 71% rise in popularity of searches
for sustainable goods over the past five years (Climate action,
2021).
• After COVID there has been an increase demand for outdoor
activity including exercise leading to a demand for outdoor fitness
clothing.

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Appendix Seven- SWOT Analysis of GYMSHARK.

Strengths Weakness
• Gymshark has over 10 ambassadors • Gymshark currently only operates
on their website and uses many online meaning consumers who
celebrities on all social media don’t have access to the internet
channels to reach their consumers. are missing out. This also means
there are additional shipping
• Their marketing approach is very charges making the prices higher
effective where they encourage for customers.
their consumers to keep fit. For
example, in 2021 they introduced • Gymshark currently package their
the ’66 day keep fit challenge’. products in not an environmentally
friendly way, however they are
• In 2019 it was reported that planning to change this by 2023.
Gymshark was ‘the fastest rising
company’.

Opportunities Threats
• Create in person stores. • Their biggest competitor ‘Nike’ has
a market share of 13% in athletic
• Include footwear in their product
appeal.
portfolio.
• Suppliers could increase prices due
• Use alternative promotion to BREXIT and COVID.
strategies such as billboards and TV
adverts. • Nike uses a more competitive
pricing approach.

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Appendix Eight- Porter’s 5 Forces Analysis of GYMSHARK.

Appendix Nine- Marketing Mix of GYMSHARK.

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Appendix Ten- Brand Positioning of GYMSHARK.

Appendix Eleven- Figure produced by Holenson (2019).

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Appendix Twelve- International Marketing Screening for
GYMSHARK’s new Market.

THE FIRM THE ENVIRONMENT

Gymshark is an online company which sells The competition for Gymshark will continue
sportswear to their consumers on an online to rise with popular brands such as Nike
order system. Currently Gymshark has dominating the market. Gymshark must
customers in 230 countries across the world maintain their Unique Selling Point by
and are planning to open their first physical providing affordable sportwear which remains
store in London during the summer of 2022 high quality.
(Gymshark, 2022). Due to this, the company Even though consumers were encouraged to
has a large amount of overseas experience ‘stay at home’ during the COVID pandemic,
online however not so much in an in-store the fitness levels and use of gyms is beginning
situation. to raise meaning the demand for sportwear
Gymshark now have four UK warehouses with may follow.
offices in five regions including in Denver. There is potential for Gymshark by expanding.
They are currently planning to open their first
physical store however continuing to open
more stores will increase their consumers as
not all customers prefer just shopping online.

Appendix Thirteen- Preliminary Screening of Market

Segments.

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Appendix Fourteen- Cost of Living Comparison (Expatistan,
2022).

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Reference List:

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