CrossFit Games

The Story Behind WIT, The Global Training Retailer

September 25, 2019 by
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Located in the heart of London’s financial district, WIT’s 18-month-old gym and retail space is Mecca for the burgeoning training category. 

Built just steps from the London Stock Exchange, the vision was “to give the training consumer a curated multi-brand product selection that we think they deserve,” said CEO and Co-Founder Dan Williams.

Below WIT’s store is a full CrossFit affiliate, running classes from 5:30 AM to 7:00 PM at night for 200 members and more than 100 drop-ins a week. 

“We are for the serious trainer,” Williams said in an exclusive sit down with Morning Chalk Up. 

Origins

Back in 2015, Williams, who was inov-8’s UK account manager at the time, approached Sam Kitching, WIT’s other co-founder with an idea. 

That year, they launched multiple pop-up shops in London’s trendy Shoreditch district. The following year, they opened a full retail store in the same neighborhood. 

In 2017, with plans to merge a full retail and training experience, WIT launched its first funding round and met their £840,000 target in seven days. By the time they closed the crowdfunding campaign, WIT had raised more than £1,200,000 from 389 investors. 

Since the opening of their new store 18-months-ago, the brand has been on a meteoric rise in training. Today, they ship worldwide, averaging 30-40 countries daily.

  • Throughout 2019, they expanded their sponsored athlete roster to include Scott Panchik, Jamie Greene, Jessica Griffith, Cody Mooney, Haley Adams and Elliot Simmonds.
  • In June, NIKE partnered with WIT for the global launch of the Metcon 5 in Paris, France where the shoe was available for testing and purchase a full 11 days before anyone else in the world. 
  • In July, they inked a deal with CrossFit, Inc. to be the official global e-commerce partner of CrossFit, combining the old CrossFit store and CrossFit Stuff store into one. 
  • In September, WIT expanded their training partnership to premiership Rugby, becoming the official training partner of the Northampton Saints. 
  • Planning second store expansion in 2020 to the East Coast of the United States.

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