Sweaty Betty sold  to a US firm for £300m

Sportswear brand Sweaty Betty founded in 1998, from London’s Notting Hill Gate  which expanded rapidly on the back of the popularity of so-called athleisure fashion, favourites of Jennifer Anniston and Halle Berry, had been bought by US-based Wolverine Worldwide  best known for selling footwear for £294.4m.

Brendan Hoffman, President of Wolverine Worldwide, said “Sweaty Betty ‘s expertise and focus on apparel, female consumers, and best-in-class digital execution has proven to be a winning combination.”

 

Sweaty Betty founders, husband and wife Tamara and Simon Hill-Norton said: “ We founded Sweaty Betty in 1998 with the purpose to empower women through fitness, and today we are delighted  to have found the right partner in Wolverine  Worldwide,  a company that is perfectly positioned to support acceleration of our mission.” They founded the business as competito4r to the sportwear lifestyle brand Lululemon, which was founded in 1998 in Canada.

 

Sweaty Betty expanded to 65 shops across the UK, and has stores in Hong Kong and is sold in 99 Nordstrom outlets in the US.

 

CEO Julia Straus will stay at the firm after the mammoth deal.