Gymshark has just received investment from General Atlantic that values the business at £1bn. General Atlantic won a competitive process having done months of DD ahead of making the investment, including significant research into the “athleisure wear” market which is expected to continue to grow, in fact accelerated by COVID-19 and people taking up fitness activities they hadn’t previously.
Castore are targeting the premium market, which further insulates it from the dire prognosis of middle income and high street retail and received significant investment themselves late last year. I’m pretty confident they’ll be around in 5 years. Whether they achieve their ambitions is another thing, but they’ve got backing behind them and a few partnerships of iconic status to help drive revenue and brand awareness.