DISCUSSION
Digital-first focus drives faster growth than stores ever did for Sweaty Betty
Written by Tom Ryan
Source: Instagram/@sweatybetty
Sweaty Betty’s digital-first multi-channel strategy is helping the U.K-based women’s activewear brand to “grow quite quickly in multiple markets at the same time,” according to Julia Straus, CEO.
“The challenge at retail is that you can only grow, unfortunately, one store at a time,” Ms. Straus said last week at Financial Times’ “Future of Retail” digital seminar.
Building digital demand, either ahead or parallel to store expansion, “is a really nimble and attractive way to acquire customers,” she said.
The retailer, founded in 1998, pivoted to digital-first with major upgrades over the two years prior to 2020. Those investments paid off as the pandemic shuttered stores and spending shifted toward digital marketing and social media to capitalize on “very dramatic” shifts toward active lifestyles in the stay-at-home economy.
Going “pure digital” as stores closed wound up being “incredibly eye opening” and helped Sweaty Betty optimize its digital-first approach. “We were not as nimble as we thought we were. We were still thinking about four walls and, no matter what you do, it's very hard to break that,” said Ms. Straus.
“It actually was an experiment that we never could have run under normal circumstances and I think it's made the way we think about merchandising and bringing product to the customer much, much faster,” she said.
Online sales currently make up about 70 percent of Sweaty Betty’s revenue, but Ms. Straus insisted stores are “more important than ever.” It currently has 65 stores, largely in the U.K., and ramped-up openings are expected following its March acquisition by Wolverine Worldwide, the parent of Merrell, Saucony and other footwear brands.
Stores, she said, remain a “critical point to engage with your customer,” both from a pure sales perspective in being able to touch product and make instant purchases, as well as for the community aspects. Sweaty Betty is seeking to bring the educational and social advantages of the store to the online experience.
She said of stores, “A lot of it is community, and it's just being out with each other and experiencing a day that is not behind your computer screen.”