Executive Summary for Gymshark 3 year strategy and coms

executive summary

Chloe Butler

Executive Summary- 2018

Page.1

Page.2

Executive Summary- 2018

GYMSHARK executive summary Chloe butler n0751513 1094 words

Executive Summary- 2018

Page.3

Page.4

Executive Summary- 2018

I confirm that this work has gained ethical approval and that I have faithfully observed the terms of approval in the conduct of this project.

Signed …………………………………………………………

. /………

Date…..……… /………

Executive Summary- 2018

Page.5

Page.6

Executive Summary- 2018

Where are they now?

Introduction & methodology Who are Gymshark?

Issues and challenges Market health and core competencies Tows analysis Consumer segmentation Research insights

................................................................................ pg.1 ................................................................................ pg. 3 ................................................................................ pg. 5 ................................................................................ pg. 7 ................................................................................ pg. 8 ................................................................................ pg. 10 ................................................................................ pg. 12

Where do they want to go?

Contents

Marketing strategy Objectives Website re launch Physical space New athletes Gymshark shoes App development Nano charge technology

................................................................................ pg. 14 ................................................................................ pg. 16 ................................................................................ pg. 17 ................................................................................ pg. 18 ................................................................................ pg. 19 ................................................................................ pg. 21 ................................................................................ pg. 23 ................................................................................ pg. 25

How will they get there?

Communication plan Budgeting Finance- Profit Measure & review Conclusion Appendix Reference list Image list Bibliography

................................................................................ pg. 26 ................................................................................ pg. 30 ................................................................................ pg. 32 ................................................................................ pg. 33 ................................................................................ pg. 34 ................................................................................ pg. 41 ................................................................................ pg. 42 ................................................................................ pg. 4

Executive Summary- 2018

Page.7

Page.8

Executive Summary- 2018

INTRODUCTION

Gymshark’s only platform for sales currently is their website; this is incredibly restrictive so alongside opening a store, Gymshark should also have an app. Most other fashion and fitness retailers have apps, which puts Gymshark behind in this field. It also does not correlate with the brand entirely, as being revolutionary and market leaders when something as simple as an app is not present.

The app should be highly functional and compatible with IOS and Andriod. Users will be able to log in with their website account to make quick purchases and be able to save desired items to a wishlist that will be permanently saved and always accessible.

Other recommendations for the app is to have athletes content and blog posts that feature on the website.

methodology To support and inform this report primary and secondary research has been carried out. Research objectives included finding out customers and non customers perceptions of the brand and to establish if there is a difference between how the brand thinks they come across to their consumers and how they are actually perceived. A questionnaire was created and circulated across Facebook and on a health and fitness group which has 73.3 thousand members. The survey was answered by 378 respondents and also had a wide global reach, reaching the United States of America, Canada, Spain, Ireland, Australia, new Zealand and Germany. 94% of respondents where female which although isn’t balanced it is viable due to gymshark sales being predominately in womenswear. Please see appendix 1 for the survey questions and responses.

Executive Summary- 2018

Page.1

“Be all that you imagined you could be - Be a visionary”

Page.2

Executive Summary- 2018

Who are gymshark?

Gymshark are a fitness, apparel & accessories brand, manufacturer and online retailer based UK. Supported by a combined 4.9 million followers across three instagram accounts, consumers in 131 countries, Gymshark is one of the UK’s fastest growing companies in fitness.

Currently the brand offers accessories and apparel.

Gymshark operates under three core values: ”Family Our community of athletes, artists and visionaries stretch all the way across the globe.

We are a family of like-minded individuals working to bring our respective visions to life.

Progression Our products exist at the intersect of engineering and art. To remain at the forefront of both, we need to be fearlessly progressive and consistently future-conscious. We are not future-proof. We are the future.

Vision In everything we do, be true to our own vision and respectful of others. We are here to bring ideas to life. There is no idea too big, or too small.” (Gymshark UK, 2019)

Executive Summary- 2018

Page.3

Page.4

Executive Summary- 2018

issues and challenges Gymshark current physical presence is in the form of experiential pop up’s. Currently each pop up is costing around £250k just for a location (Francis, B. 2018) as a direct investment. As these pop up stores are primarily experiential they are “not necessarily to drive sales” (Francis, B. 2018) Although sales do spike following a pop up, spending that amount of money is only viable at the moment because annual gross profit is so high, the longevity in this can be questioned, due to the lack of profit

Gymshark have experience growth beyond their website’s capabilities.

The site was switched from Shopify to Magento in 2013, taking eight to twelve months to build and create a new website. Unfortunately for the website the company had doubled in size in this time and had already outgrown the new unpublished site.

During blackout 2015 the website experienced huge technological failures, costing Gymshark an estimated £143,000 in lost sales. Gymshark returned to shopify, and now use shopify plus, however major blackout crashes in 2017 and minor crashes in 2018 where still experienced.

For a company who runs solely online, having an inadequate website rapidly looses customers and profit. (Winkler, N 2018),

Executive Summary- 2018

Page.5

Where are they now?

Page.6

Executive Summary- 2018

MARKET HEALTH Gymshark competes in the fitness apparel and accessories market, which is highly saturated with big names such as Nike, and Underarmour, as well as small business all offering similar products.

The market has seen rapid growth and is predicted to accumulate $184.6 billion in profit by 2020, registering a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 4.3% during the forecast period 2015 2020. (Allied Market Research. 2019)

Such growth has been triggered by; - Increasing disposable income - More fitness-conscious consumers - More fashionable sports apparel available - Increased women participation in fitness and sports However, the market is highly threatened by counterfeit goods very similar designs and styles.

CORE COMPETENCIES key abilities or strengths that a brand has developed that give it a competitive advantage over its peers and contribute to its long-term success.

- Mastered and lead the way for influencer marketing - Utilised Instagram and its users to benefit the company - First to fill the gap in the market for fitted gym clothes that are functional and on trend - Have a loyal fan base - Have a family approach to staff and consumers alike Executive Summary- 2018

Page.7

Page.8

Executive Summary- 2018

tOWS analysis Strengths - Influencer marketing - Strong and loyal fan base - High profits and Turnover - Owner works closely with the brand Opportunities - To expand platforms and open a physical store - Become more diverse in advertising and social media content

Threats - New market entrants - Online style stealers - Consumers are more judgemental of brand - Relies heavily on instagram

- High profits and turnover will allow the brand to expand platforms and open a physical store.

- The strong and loyal fan base will take on and push any new campaigns and social media content added

- Having a strong and loyal fan base will mean consumers are less likely to use new market entrant or ‘style stealers’ companies.

Weaknesses - No physical permanent space - Small range of consumers - Not utilising onminchanel

- No physical permanent space is combated by opening a new store.

- The range of consumers will increase and become more diverse as new social media content is created.

- Using omnichanel marketing

will be will imperative to the brand whilst expanding platforms

o&s o&w

T&S t&w

-High profits and turnover allow the brand to expand platforms so the reliance is not so heavy on instagram

Threats

- Online style stealers and new market entrants will no longer be such a threat once gymshark have a physical store

- Not utilising omnichanel and a heavy reliance on instagram suggests Gymshark should expand platforms and take an omnichanel approach

Executive Summary- 2018

Page.9

CONSUMER segmentation Segment 1; age 14-18

Segment 3; age 25+

-Pocket money -Christmas and birthday money -Minimum wage part time

-part time/full time job -loan/overdraft -pays for other expenses, has to budget for food/rent ext

-Full time job -Less disposable income -Bills, mortgage ext -Paying off student debt

Value proposition

-Athlete inspiration -not hugely into fitness, (more for comfort)

-Wanting to look good -tight for money -fitness conscious -finding individuality -fast paced lifestyle

-Budgeting -Securing personality -May choose other brands Less likely to succumb to marketing ploys

Type of engagement

-Social media -snapchat, iNSTAGRAM -yOUTUBE INFLUENCERS -does NOT HAVE ACTIVE EMAIL/DOES NOT CHECK REGULARLY

-sOCIAL mEIDA- sNAPCHAT, iNSTAGRAM, youtube Linkedin -Website -University peers/Word of mouth

-Social media- instagram, Linkedin -Website -peers, close friends -work colleagues

-leggings Tracksuits -Hoodies -acsessories (phone cases)

-would use the whole selection of products -fitness and comfort lead

-SPORTS BRA -LEGGINGS -JOGGING BOTTOMS AND LOUNGEWEAR -WOULD WEAR IF INTO FITNESS

Financial

Product selection

Page.10

Segment 2; age 19-24

Executive Summary- 2018

TARGET CONSUMER

mIA AGED 15 TRIED TO ACT AND LOOK OLDER HAS OLDER SIBLINGS who she looks up to, and borrows makeup and clothes

Shaun aged 23 at his peak of physical fitness has a big group of gym enthusiastic friends

Rachel aged 28 at the peak of a successful career tries to look younger than she is, has always been fit and active, loves yoga

Executive Summary- 2018

Page.11

Research insights The survey had a reach of 378 respondents in eight different countries.

Respondents were shown a series of imagery taken from the main Instagram page and 53% of people stated that the imagery used makes them feel self-conscious and that you can only wear Gymshark if you look like the images so they won’t purchase the products’ 29% of respondents said the imagery shown was ‘unoriginal and unrealistic but they may still be tempted to purchase’ and shockingly just 19% stated that the images are inspiring, and motivational to buy Gymshark products and to get to the gym. Based on the brands’ commitment to customers this will be quite a shocking result and not at all what a brand would want to achieve from its instagram content

53% Countries reached (blue) 378 respondents

29% 19%

Respondents where given the opportunity to add a comment about the brand and 38% of comments stated they had not heard of the brand which is is a significant statistic but is made more viable considering the question wasn’t tailored to that response.

Also to reiterate womenswear’s popularity, out of the people asked that have purchased Gymshark products 38% of orders contained a pair of leggings which proves the popularity of their leggings and that is not to be ignored.

94% of respondents where female which although isn’t balanced it is viable due to gymshark sales being predominately in womenswear.

Page.12

Executive Summary- 2018

38%

Of people stated they have never heard of gymshark

36% 94%

Of orders contained a pair of leggings

of people asked are Female

So what?

From these results it gives an insight into the public’s perception of gym-wear and Gymshark. Due to the large sample size and the responses given it would be wise for Gymshark to take them on board. This can be achieved, however; - Instagram content needs to be altered or tailored - Sizes need to be more consistent and follow the size format for the specific country.

- Introduce more and more diverse athletes - Females need to be the main focus for the company however Gymshark need to be aware of this if they do not want to loose their male clientele. It is also worth noting that men are less likely to fill in an online survey so this may not be representative of all Gymshark’s customers (Grinell Smith. 2008)

Executive Summary- 2018

Page.13

Where do they want to go?

Page.14

Executive Summary- 2018

Marketing strategy

Overall the content of the three year strategy proposal consists of; + Opening a physical experiential store + Launching Gymshark shoes + Teaming up with a more diverse range of athletes + Website and size tailoring + IOS and Andriod App launch + Charge cell technology integration

Executive Summary- 2018

Page.15

Objectives To achieve a ÂŁ1.6 million profit from gymshark shoes in the first year of launch.

To achieve a monthly average footfall rate of 12,000 customers in the experiential store within the first year .

To increase attendance to pop-up’s by 10% from the average attendance rate after the new athlete launch

Page.16

Executive Summary- 2018

strategy plan

-year

One

Executive Summary- 2018

Page.17

Website and sizes re-launch As an online only brand, sizing needs to be clear and concise. To benefit customers the website needs to be updated to have sizes relevant to their location. Not only will this be easier for the customer, but an insight from the focus group revealed that someone who is a size 14 or 16 is put off buying from a site if they have to select a size extra large. (see appendix 2) A new design (shown right) for labelling garments has two key changes.

The first being a simple change to show the range of sizes available, making a larger size label not look so apparent that the garment is a larger size.

The second being showing the conversion of sizes, this will ensure labels will be consistent worldwide, making production easier. It also means that it will correlate with the proposed website changes,

Alongside existing web imagery, two models should be pictured. (exemplr left) The second model should not look like the typical Gymshark model. This allows consumers to see what the garments look like on different body types.

Page.18

Executive Summary- 2018

experiential store Gymshark’s needs to follow in the footsteps and excel past competitors such as Nike and Lululemon in opening a flagship experiential store. Gymshark as a brand need to be experiential, currently, there is a lack of consumer physical space, combining the two is an opportunity not to be missed. It simply would not work for Gymshark to open a generic shop that does not fit the theme, feel or Gymshark brand, the store needs to be omnichannel with its other platforms and provide an inviting and revolutionary space for its customers to interact with the brand.

Just like Gymshark Head Quarters (GSHQ) in Solihull this store needs to be built and specifically tailored for purpose, this will give the brand flexibility to customise as they desire. The GSHQ building itself is beautifully designed and aligns perfectly with the brand, it also adopts trends such as minimalism, The design for the store should be kept in line with this standard, elements of the building should integrate into the store, i.e. the industrial feel to the building with exposed pipework and concrete, the green element with a large amount and variety of plant life and greenery, design features such as writing on the walls, and the logo seating area visible from above.

Executive Summary- 2018

Page.19

New athletes In order to create a business image that is more relatable to consumers, new athletes need to be taken on board. Currently Gymshark athletes are all extremely fit and take their look to the extreme, instead of providing inspiration to customers research has shown that this image is putting people off the brand and deterring new customers. Two examples of people that can be used as the new athletes is as follows, a recommendation of adding four in total will balance out the existing athletes. Another example of the type of people that should be added is a male and female beginning a bulking/weight loss journey so that fans and followers can see the progression and hard work it takes to get the body of the current Gymshark athletes.

Christina is a certified fitness trainer, social media influencer and a below the knee amputee with 27.4k followers. Interested in health and fitness, a very aesthetic Instagram profile is run showing food, lifestyle and exercise. Although in extremely good shape Christina is larger than the current Gymshark Athletes and is more of the body type that should be being shown through athletes and imagery posted on the website and Instagram page. The prosthetic leg that Christina uses changes the way she trains and discusses this with her followers via Instagram and you-tube.

Page.20

Executive Summary- 2018

Christina.pro.sthetics

Lauren rose

Lauren is the survivor of a car accident which saw the vehicle she was travelling in plummet 300 feet, with Lauren being ejected by the car. Three surgeries, a broken and fractured back, spinal chord damage and two punctured lungs later Lauren was left completely paralysed from the waist down. Lauren shares her story along with her gym training and determination to teach herself to walk again with her 153k followers. Lauren already wears a lot of gymshark products whilst she is working out so becoming an athlete would be a natural progression and will not have fans questioning her loyalty to the brand.

gymshark shoes Gymshark wants to be “The UK’s answer to Nike and Adidas”.

(Rider, S. 2018) However Gymshark lack poignant product that Nike and Adidas excel in. Shoes.

In order to compete directly in that field, Gymshark need to launch a shoe line.

Jordan Molesworth is a Gymshark designer and has released details of a prototype for a shoe line via Behance. The design consists of an outdoor shoe with a removable inner used for wearing on mats and whilst lifting.

This design is highly functional and therefore is likely to be highly rated by Gymshark’s loyal consumer base. There also is no other shoe like this in the market currently, therefore giving first mover advantage.

From this base product, the shoe can be diversified where just the inner shoe could be sold separately, as well as a less functional outer shoe to be worn casually as part of the rising athleisure trend.

Executive Summary- 2018

Page.21

strategy plan

-year

two

Page.22

Executive Summary- 2018

App development Gymshark’s only platform for sales currently is their website; this is incredibly restrictive so alongside opening a store, Gymshark should also have an app. Most other fashion and fitness retailers have apps, which puts Gymshark behind in this field. It also does not correlate with the brand entirely, as being revolutionary and market leaders when something as simple as an app is not present.

The app should be highly functional and compatible with IOS and Andriod. Users will be able to log in with their website account to make quick purchases and be able to save desired items to a wishlist that will be permanently saved and always accessible.

Other recommendations for the app is to have athletes content and blog posts that feature on the website.

Executive Summary- 2018

Page.23

strategy plan

-year

three

Page.24

Executive Summary- 2018

nano charge technology Nottingham Trent University have recently invented a new technology called a solar cell. The individual cells can be sewn into fabrics thus creating a network of miniature cells that create electricity. According to professor Tilak Dias “The clothing would look and behave like any other textile” (Nottingham Trent University.) meaning it could be easily sewn into Gymsharks garments. The technology has been proven to charge phones and smartwatches. By incorporating this technology in the third year of the strategy means it allows time for the technology to develop.

Using this technology will push Gymshark forward and beyond what its competitors are doing, being the first in the market to use this kind of technology would give first mover advantage.

Gymshark can eaisly follow other gymwear brands and incorporate pockets for smartphones into their garments, for men a pocket similar to the one shown can be incorporated into leggings and tracksuits.

The pockets will have the nano solar cells woven into the inside so that the device can be charged whilst working out. The nano chips can also be made compatible with the Gymshark app. A simple update to the existing proposed app will create a ‘my Gymshark’ section where the user will open the section on the app when entering the gym and press ‘begin workout’ the app will then read data from the chip such as heart rate, calories burnt and other data that the user can look at and track progress.

Executive Summary- 2018

Page.25

How will they get there?

Page.26

Executive Summary- 2018

Communication plan re-Launch area specific website so that prices and sizes can be tailored.

JAN

Releasing teaser clips of the new experiential store

mar

You-tube video by Ben showing the store being built

Open experiential store!

You-Tube video by Ben showing shoe production and distribution

Winter line launch -BLACKOUT!

feb

Teaser clips of new size range

apr

Launch of new ‘athletes’ campaign

jun

Launch gymshark shoes!

aug

Shoes go online

oct

First pop up with new and old athletes

dec

Keep fans and customers up to date with videos.

may

jul

sep

nov

Executive Summary- 2018

Page.27

Month by month schedule

jan- re-Launch website with tailored sizes

FEB- Teaser clips of new size range

Launch improved website, and announce on Instagram via a post and story.

Use Instagram stories to share little clips to tease the larger tailored size range.

may- Youtube video by Ben showing the store being built

jun- Launch gymshark shoes

JAN feb mar apr may jun jul aug sep oct nov dec

Page.28

Executive Summary- 2018

Release an in depth YouTube video by Ben showing the experiential store being built behind the scenes as the YouTube videos that are currently uploaded are really insightful and are popular among consumers.

sep- YouTube video by Ben showing shoe production and distribution Update YouTube channel as to how the shoes are made and distributed i.e. another behind the scenes.

Announce the launch of Gymshark shoes via instagram and the website homepage. Also send shoes to athletes new and old so they can promote to create hype.

oct- First pop up with new and old athletes This is a long enough time frame after their launch in April to create a strong fan base and create hype. Held at the new experiential store to keep costs low and direct people to the store.

mar- Releasing teaser clips of the new experiential store

apr- Launch of new ‘athletes’ campaign

Via instagram, a series of little videos will be launched as teaser trailers for the new experiential store, ie the being built and progress.

The new athletes will be announced to the public via instagram as well as via a blog post on the website about each one.

jul- Open experiential store!

aug- Shoes go online

Grand opening of the store, the new summer collection will be stocked as well as shoes however both will only available in store for the first month after launch. Meaning they will become exclusive and therefore desirable.

Summer collection and shoes will become available online. August is a quiet month for Gymshark so this plan will be good here to peak sales plus it means the business will have time to launch the store.

nov- Winter line launch and bLACKOUT! Winter collection will be online and the company will be preparing for BLACKOUT and uploading the relevant Instagram and website posts in a similar fashion to this year.

Dec- Keep fans and customers up to date with videos.

Ensure all social media is up to date and continue using Instagram highlights and stories and to focus on excellent customer service to make Christmas shopping easy and hassle free.

Executive Summary- 2018

Page.29

Budgeting

Page.30

Executive Summary- 2018

Month by month plan for the financial outlay to achieve one year communication plan.

With a total spend of ÂŁ53,512.80 out of the ÂŁ300k, reasoning for spending just under 18% of he total budget is due to trying create some stability in spending within the brand. The proposed activities in the second and third year (the app and nano cell technology) will cost a huge amount of money so spending the full ÂŁ300k for the first year seems excessive.

Please see appendix 4 for rationale for spending and figures.

Executive Summary- 2018

Page.31

Financials- Profit sheet

Page.32

Executive Summary- 2018

Month by month plan for the financial outlay and profit achieved by the launch of Gymshark shoes.

With a total spend of £700,960.80, a £1,699,039.20 profit can be made based on a 10% profit increase from Gymsharks annual turnover. Please see appendix 5 for a rationale for spending and figures.

£700,960.80 SPEND £1,699,039.20 PROFIT Executive Summary- 2018

Page.33

Measure and review To achieve a £1.6 million profit from gymshark shoes in the first year of launch.

To achieve a motnhly average footfall rate of 12,000 customers in the experiental store within the first year .

To increase attendance to pop-up’s by 10% from the average attendance rate after the new athlete launch

Page.34

Executive Summary- 2018

It is imperative for objectives set to be measurable in order to determine whether they have been met.

Measuring profit for Gymshark shoes can be completed by tracking sales of the new product.

Measuring footfall in a store is tracked with sensors in the doors that will count how many people enter and exit the store and when producing a figure as to the store’s footfall per day or hour.

Attendance to a pop-up can be tracked with similar equipment to the store or by using a ticket only system or a signing in the process for entry.

conclusion Gymshark are market leaders, have a high turnover of profit, and have seen vast profit increases very rapidly.

However, recommendations have been made to fill in gaps of the brand and to push above the current situations of competitors. This report has introduced and analysed Gymshark’s situation in terms of successes and challenges, and a three-year strategy and one-year communication plan has been proposed.

If Gymshark takes on recommendations made in this report along with taking a sophisticated omnichannel approach the brand will achieve higher profits, attract a new and more diverse group of consumers and achieve a seamless experience between online and physical presence.

Executive Summary- 2018

Page.35

Page.50

Executive Summary- 2018

Chloe Butler

Executive Summary- 2018

Page.51