Gymshark To Open In World’s Largest Mall, Which Is Getting Even Bigger

U.K.-based gymwear specialist Gymshark is set to open its first permanent store outside the U.K. this year after inking a deal with franchiser Al Tayer Insignia to make its debut at the U.A.E.’s ginormous Dubai Mall.

The new store will open towards the end of this year and will be located on the ground floor of Dubai Mall, which is the largest mall in the world by total gross land area and claims footfall of over 105 million shoppers last year.

It will be the gymwear giant’s third store, following the opening of its original flagship store on Regent Street in London’s West End in Fall 2022 and its recent summer launch in the U.K. capital’s East End at the Westfield Stratford City mall.

The arrival of the first physical store in the Middle East follows the launch of localized ecommerce services in the region, with a dual-language site and app, faster shipping times including same day delivery as well as its exclusive limited edition releases specifically for the Middle East region.

“We’ve known for a while that Gymshark is expanding its omnichannel strategy and we would be looking outside the shores of the U.K.,” Gymshark founder and CEO Ben Francis said. “So, when Al Tayer Insignia presented us with the opportunity to take a space in one of the world’s most visited malls in a city that is so obsessed with fitness, combined the phenomenal reaction to the launch of our localized online store in the Middle East, we knew we had to take it.”

He added: “I can’t wait for the doors to open to our first permanent store outside of the UK and to welcome everyone to Gymshark Dubai.”

Gymshark Goes Global

The company which made its reputation with apparel and accessories specifically for what Francis felt was the underrepresented gym-goer market. He remains committed to opening a first New York store although there will be a pop-up first, which will be open for 12 months and will be sited in the heart of Manhattan.

The first opened nearly two years ago on Regent Street in the heart of London’s West End and the second is at one of the U.K.’s busiest malls, close to the former 2012 Olympic Stadium which now hosts Premier League soccer club West Ham United.

Francis said at the time that he was looking to expand and said at the Westfield opening that for non-flagship stores he is typically seeking out locations from around 3,500-sq.-ft. to 5,500-sq.ft., with the new Stratford outlet in East London, which opened its doors on July 13, at circa 5,000-sq.-ft.

“We absolutely want to open more stores in the U.K.,” he said. “I’m not going to put a figure on how many because it will largely be dictated by finding the right sites.”

Meantime, Dubai Mall owner Emaar Properties recently revealed plans to massively expand with a $410 million investment to add 240 new retailers and food and beverage outlets at a mall that already includes the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo, KidZania Dubai, Play DXB, Dubai Ice Rink, Arte Museum Dubai, and the Zabeel Sports District.

In 2023 the 12-million-sq.ft. Dubai Mall claimed that it had broken attendance records to become the “most visited location on Earth” and earlier this year Arte Museum Dubai opened at Dubai Mall, showing the exhibition Eternal Nature in its 30,000-sq.ft. gallery in what is the first Middle East site for the digital art venue.