Shoppers took part in plank and sit-up competitions while they waited in a huge queue for the store to open
The queue of shoppers waiting for the opening of the new Gymshark superstore at the Trafford Centre(Image: Gymshark)
Shoppers queued from the early hours of the morning to be the first to get inside the Trafford Centre’s newest fitness superstore that launched at the weekend.
Gymshark, the fitness community and apparel brand, opened its first standalone store in the North at Manchester’s Trafford Centre on Saturday amid huge excitement from fans of the brand.
After announcing that the first 100 shoppers through the doors would claim an exclusive goody bag, a queue began to form EIGHT HOURS before the grand opening on Saturday morning at 9am.
The queue began in the early hours of Saturday, and snaked from outside the new store on Peel Avenue right outside to the car park.
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Gymshark spokesman Sam Kane said the launch went beyond expectations.
He said: “It was amazing, the queues were absolutely insane. The first people were there in the early hours of the morning.
“We had plank and press-up competitions in the queue and the vibes were just immaculate.”
He added: “Manchester has really made us feel so welcome.”
The new Gymshark store is now open(Image: Gymshark)
Manchester athlete James Beardwell cut the ribbon to officially open the store on Saturday, before letting the floods of shoppers head inside for the first look.
The Gymshark launch follows hot on the heels of the opening of the biggest JD sports store in the world at the Trafford Centre earlier this month.
That event drew similarly huge queues of shoppers waiting to get in, amid spiking interest in fitness fashion in the region.
The new Gymshark fitness store spans 7,500 feet and sits on Upper Peel Avenue. It features all of Gymshark’s ranges, including Vital and Power, as well as exclusives for Gymshark Trafford Centre.
The new store features Manchester-specific items too(Image: Gymshark)
That includes Manchester-specific merchandising and clothing which were flying out at the weekend.
Bosses also cannily tapped in to the return of Oasis to Manchester this weekend with their billboard outside that says “Lift forever”.
The cool, all-white store has Gymshark’s increasingly trademark look and feel, including mannequins created from real people in the community.
They also boast they’ve got the “coolest of changing rooms with bespoke lighting”.
The “Lift Forever” billboard welcomes Gymshark’s arrival to the Trafford Centre(Image: Gymshark)
It has become Gymshark’s first standalone store in the UK outside of London, and follows recent openings in The Dubai Mall and on Kalverstraat in Amsterdam.
It also comes ahead of the opening of Gymshark’s first flagship store in the US later this year.
Since Birmingham entrepreneur Ben Francis founded it in a garage in 2012, Gymshark has gone on to become one of the UK’s biggest success stories of the 21st Century.
With over 20 million people across 200 countries now counting themselves as members of the Gymshark community, the brand has seen global success on an unprecedented scale.
Inside the new Gymshark(Image: Gymshark)
Gymshark prides itself on being the brand that “creates the tools to help everyone achieve their very best in the gym, not just from the clothing it sells but also from the community it has built around it”.
Manchester has been a key part of the Gymshark journey having hosted its Lift fitness events here in previous years.
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(Image: Gymshark)
Simon Layton, Centre Director at Trafford Centre, said: “We’re thrilled to welcome Gymshark’s first Northern store to Trafford Centre this July, joining our growing athleisure and sportswear offering at the centre.
“We have no doubt that Gymshark will prove immensely popular and can’t wait to welcome them.”