Dive Brief:
- In a series of executive appointments, U.K.-based DTC activewear brand Gymshark has named Hannah Mercer general manager of retail and wholesale and Kim Dolder as general manager of North America, both new positions.
- Mercer spent six years at Adidas as global vice president where she helped lead the company’s global retail strategy. She has also held senior retail roles at Nike, House of Fraser and Harrods, according to a press release sent to Retail Dive. Mercer reports to Chief Brand Officer Noel Mack.
- Dolder, based in New York, comes from Abercrombie & Fitch where she led the Gilly Hicks brand, helping to expand its digital and physical retail presence, according to a separate announcement. She has also held senior leadership roles at Outdoor Voices, Target and Under Armour. Dolder reports to chief financial officer Mat Dunn.
Dive Insight:
The appointments come as Gymshark works to build out its omnichannel presence.
The company in October 2022 opened its first stand-alone flagship store on London’s Regent Street. A second store is planned to open this summer at London’s Westfield Stratford City, while a 12-month pop-up in New York City will also open this year, company founder and CEO Ben Francis said in a video posted on LinkedIn in February. Gymshark is also launching online in Dubai this spring and is planning a “brand experience at the end of this year,” Francis said.
In addition to growing its retail footprint, the brand is also expanding into wholesale. Gymshark is planning to launch its “Everywear” athleisure collection with Selfridges, marking its first foray into wholesale, Francis said. Mercer, who called the company’s omnichannel strategy “bold,” will support the company as it expands.
With the New York City pop-up, the brand is leaning more into the North America market where it sees opportunity to grow.
“North America is comfortably our biggest region, responsible for half of our annual revenues,” Francis said in a statement. “Yet, we still have such a small slice of the market, meaning the opportunity for Gymshark here truly is massive. As we look to up our brand awareness and physical presence, I can think of no one better than Kim to lead this charge.”
The appointments follow a year of changes at the company. As part of a U.S. restructuring in January of last year, Gymshark laid off 65 people from its Denver offices. And in June, the company’s chief commercial officer, Niran Chana, stepped down after eight years with the brand.
But the brand is building out its team as well: In addition to Mercer and Dolder, Gymshark also recently appointed Carly Natalizia as chief digital officer, Laurent Madeleine as chief supply chain officer and Dunn as CFO.
For the past fiscal year, the brand posted a 15% year over year increase in revenue to $556.2 million pounds ($709 million at the time of the announcement), according to Francis.
