British activewear label Sweaty Betty has entered the Indian market with its first-ever store, opening at Phoenix Mall of Asia in Bengaluru. The launch marks a significant milestone for the 27-year-old brand as it expands its global footprint into South Asia’s fast-growing premium athleisure segment.
The new store brings Sweaty Betty’s signature performance wear — running, yoga and studio-to-street pieces designed specifically for women — to Indian shoppers for the first time through a physical retail format. The launch was announced on LinkedIn by retail real estate professional Ketan Kulkarni.
Sweaty Betty was founded in 1998 by Tamara and Simon Hill-Norton, who opened their first boutique in London’s Notting Hill neighbourhood. The brand set out to prove that technical sportswear could be empowering and flattering, designed specifically for women’s bodies rather than adapted from men’s templates.
Sweaty Betty opened its first stand-alone stores in the United States in Chicago and Washington, D.C., adding to a wholesale presence that already spanned dozens of Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s locations across the US and Canada. In the UK and Ireland, the brand has grown to around 85 stores, with additional locations in markets including Hong Kong, Singapore, Germany and New Zealand.
In August 2021, the brand entered a new chapter when it was acquired by American footwear and apparel group Wolverine World Wide, in a deal reported to be worth around $410 million. The acquisition gave Sweaty Betty access to greater manufacturing and distribution resources while it retained its distinct brand identity and London design roots.
The Bengaluru launch adds India to Sweaty Betty’s expanding list of international markets, and signals confidence in the country’s growing appetite for premium international activewear — a category that has drawn a wave of global entrants in recent years.
