Ben Francis

MBE
Francis in 2022
Born
Benjamin David Francis

1992 (age 31–32)
West Midlands, England
EducationSouth Bromsgrove High School
Aston University
Known forCo-founder, CEO and majority owner of Gymshark
SpouseRobin Gallant (m. 2021)
Children2
Websitebenfrancis.com

Benjamin David Francis MBE (born 1992) is a British businessman. He is the co-founder, CEO and majority owner of Gymshark, a fitness apparel and accessories company founded in 2012.[1]

With a stake of over 70% in Gymshark which is currently valued by investors at $1.45 billion, Francis had a net worth of $1.3 billion as of April 2023.[2] In April 2023, he made his debut on Forbes' annual The World's Billionaires list as the 2,259th richest person in the world.[3]

Early and personal life

Benjamin David Francis[4][5] was born in the West Midlands, England in 1992[6][7] and grew up in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire.[8] He attended South Bromsgrove High School.[9] He first became interested in computing after studying IT at school.[10] His first business was an online company that sold car number plates.[11] Francis started going to the gym as a teenager.[12] He later said "the structure, consistency and work ethic I found in the gym I realised, could be applied to different areas of my life and it would work".[10] In 2010, he studied international business and management at Aston University.[11] He has said his time at university gave him "a strong foundation on which to build a business".[13] He dropped out in 2012 to focus on Gymshark full-time.[14]

Francis is a car and motorcycle enthusiast, and a season ticket holder at Aston Villa.[15][16] He and his girlfriend Robin Gallant became engaged in April 2021, and married on 9 September 2021.[17] On 8 September 2022, Francis announced that they were expecting twins.[18] Their twin sons were born on 24 December 2022.[19]

Career

Before launching Gymshark, Francis developed two fitness applications, Fat Loss Abs Guide and iPhysique.[10] While at university between 2010 and 2013, he worked for Pizza Hut as a delivery boy earning £5 an hour.[15] He left six months after launching Gymshark.[20][15]

Gymshark

In 2012, aged 19, he launched Gymshark in his parents' garage with school friend Lewis Morgan.[9][12] The website initially sold fitness supplements.[14] Unable to afford to buy stock or secure distribution deals with supplement suppliers, he began dropshipping supplies from other vendors and it took him six weeks to make his first sale.[21] Gymshark began life as a supplements company.[22] In 2013, branching out from supplements, Francis began designing and selling fitness apparel on Gymshark's website.[14] He began manufacturing the products from his parents' garage in Bromsgrove, using a sewing machine and screen printer he bought with £1,000 of savings.[16][23] He learned how to sew from his grandmother.[22]

In 2013, he exhibited Gymshark's products at the BodyPower fitness trade show in Birmingham.[16] After the trade show ended, a tracksuit went viral on Facebook, generating £30,000 in sales within 30 minutes.[16][11] Francis later left university and quit his job at Pizza Hut to focus on the company full-time.[20] As a start-up, Francis marketed the brand through partnering with social media influencers, including body builders Nikki Blackketter and Lex Griffin.[14] Gymshark was one of the first brands to make extensive use of social media influencers.[16]

In 2015, Francis stepped down as CEO of the company to become chief marketing officer, chief brand officer and chief product officer.[24][25] At the time, he said the move would allow the company "to grow even more quickly" and give him time to "work on my weaknesses and become a more rounded businessperson".[26] In 2018, Gymshark opened a new £5 million headquarters in Solihull, West Midlands.[27][28] In 2019, Gymshark opened its own branded gym and innovation hub.[29] Since 2016, Gymshark has been listed on The Sunday Times Fast Track of fast-growing private companies.[30] The company currently sells products in 131 countries.[31]

In August 2020, Gymshark sold a 21% stake to US private equity firm General Atlantic in a deal which valued the company in excess of £1 billion.[32] Francis currently owns more than 70% of the company, which is worth £700 million.[1] In August 2021, he returned to the role of the company's CEO.[33]

In 2018, Francis was included on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list.[34][35] In 2019, Francis served on the UK Government's Business Council for Entrepreneurs.[36][37] In 2020, Francis was awarded the EY UK Entrepreneur of the Year Award.[38] Francis was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to the business sector.[39][40]

References

  1. 1 2 Onita, Laura (14 August 2020). "Entrepreneur behind Gymshark worth £700m after blockbuster deal". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  2. ↑ "Ben Francis". Forbes. 22 April 2023. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  3. ↑ Tognini, Giacomo (5 April 2023). "From Bodybuilder To Billionaire: How Gymshark Founder Ben Francis Built A Sportswear Unicorn". Forbes. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  4. ↑ "The best gym wear for men". Luxury London. 4 January 2023. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  5. ↑ "New Year Honours List—United Kingdom" (PDF). London Gazette. 31 December 2022.
  6. ↑ Tognini, Giacomo (5 April 2023). "From Bodybuilder To Billionaire: How Gymshark Founder Ben Francis Built A Sportswear Unicorn". Forbes. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  7. ↑ "About Ben Francis". Ben Francis. 5 May 2020. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  8. ↑ Balloo, Stephanie (15 August 2020). "Gymshark founded by ex pizza delivery boy valued at over £1billion". BirminghamLive. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  9. 1 2 Harris, Tristan (22 March 2019). "Former South Bromsgrove High pupil Ben inspires class of 2019 on Gymshark visit". The Bromsgrove Standard. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  10. 1 2 3 "About Ben Francis". Ben Francis. 5 May 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  11. 1 2 3 Rhys, Steffan (19 May 2020). "The 27-year-old from Bromsgrove who's already worth well over £100 million". BirminghamLive. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  12. 1 2 Editor, Ashley Armstrong, Retail. "Ben Francis: fitness fanatic builds Gymshark into a £1bn business". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 17 August 2020. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ↑ "Former student's sportswear business is booming". Aston University. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Bearne, Suzanne (1 October 2018). "The 26-year-old with a £100m sportswear brand". BBC News. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  15. 1 2 3 "Ex-pizza delivery boy's gym firm worth over £1bn". BBC News. 14 August 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 Times, The Sunday. "How Gymshark founder Ben Francis created his sportswear empire". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  17. ↑ "Fairytale Wedding - Ben and Robin". 23 September 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  18. ↑ Rudland, Frankie Michael (8 September 2022). "Owner of Gymshark Ben Francis announces he's having twins!". Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  19. ↑ "Ben Francis: the rise of Solihull's Gymshark and the UK's youngest billionaire". BirminghamWorld. 21 April 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  20. 1 2 Barrie, Thomas (17 February 2020). "Gymshark founder Ben Francis's tips for success". GQ. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  21. ↑ Lee, Robert (3 June 2020). "Gymshark Entrepreneur Ready to Take on the U.S." Medium. Archived from the original on 28 June 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  22. 1 2 Cook, Jodie. "How Gymshark Became A $1.3 Billion Brand, And What We Can Learn". Forbes. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  23. ↑ "Gymshark: Ex-pizza delivery boy's fitness wear brand valued at over £1bn". Sky News. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  24. ↑ Evans, Peter. "Interview: Gymshark boss Steve Hewitt on his 'field of dreams'". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  25. ↑ Works, FastCo (11 May 2020). "How to make the most of your data—and empower your workforce". Fast Company. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  26. ↑ Media, Insider. "Gymshark founder reveals reasons behind stepping down as CEO". Insider Media Ltd. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  27. ↑ "A Look Inside Gymshark's New HQ". Officelovin'. 19 June 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  28. ↑ Geoghegan, Jill (10 April 2018). "Gymshark launches new UK HQ". Drapers. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  29. ↑ Jones, Tamlyn (18 February 2020). "Gymshark expands head office base in Solihull". Business Live. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  30. ↑ TWK. "Fast Track". Fast Track. Archived from the original on 29 September 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  31. ↑ "About Gymshark". Gymshark UK. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  32. ↑ "Clothing brand Gymshark becomes UK's newest £1bn start-up". www.ft.com. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  33. ↑ Hughes, Huw (2 July 2021). "Gymshark co-founder Ben Francis returns to CEO role". FashionUnited. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  34. ↑ "Ben Francis". Forbes. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  35. ↑ "30 Under 30 Europe 2018: Retail & Ecommerce". Forbes. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  36. ↑ "Bidders circle £1bn Gymshark as sports brand shrugs off virus". Sky News. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  37. ↑ "Small Business, Scale ups and Entrepreneurs Business Council: 10 July 2019". GOV.UK. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  38. ↑ "Gymshark founder named EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ 2020 UK winner". www.ey.com. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  39. ↑ "No. 63918". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2022. p. N19.
  40. ↑ "Gymshark founder Ben Francis awarded MBE". Retail Gazette. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
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