Sweaty Betty is a British retailer specialising in women's activewear, founded by Tamara and Simon Hill-Norton. The brand has been ensuring that 'style meets performance' in women's activewear for over 15 years, with the aim to "inspire women to find empowerment through fitness". Sweaty Betty has over 50 boutiques in the United Kingdom, six boutiques in the United States and concessions in department storesHarrods and Bloomingdale's.
Origins and History
Sweaty Betty was founded in 1998 by Tamara and Simon Hill-Norton with one boutique in London's Notting Hill. By 2003, the company had expanded to five boutiques. In 2006, Sweaty Betty opened their first concession in Selfridges and now feature in the in-store Body Studio – this was later followed by one in Harrods. , there are over 40 Sweaty Betty boutiques around the UK, 6 in the US and 4 department store concessions as well as a British and American online store.
Community
Boutiques host Guest Instructor nights where fitness professionals lead classes and Q&A sessions. Past Guest Instructors have included Barefoot Ted of "Born to Run" fame, founder of Hamptons studio Yoga Shanti Colleen Saidman Yee, founder of Barrecore Niki Rein and the Olympian and founder of Volleybody Zara Dampney. In summer 2012, the company organised a series of guided sightseeing runs around London from their various boutiques under the banner "Run Britannia".
Collaborations
In 2010, the company worked with the charity Breast Cancer Care as their official clothing partner. As part of this, Sweaty Betty raised money for the charity by providing bibs for competitors participating in events such as the London Marathon. In 2013, Sweaty Betty collaborated with the English National Ballet to create its SS13 dance range. Sweaty Betty also has a renewed collaboration with Neom Organics, a British retailer of natural and organic beauty products. In 2015, Sweaty Betty collaborated with top British designer Richard Nicoll for an exclusive limited-edition collection, which featured on the runway at London Fashion Week. In 2020, Sweaty Betty launched a Yoga range in collaboration with TV presented and podcaster Fearne Cotton.
Awards
In 2001, Sweaty Betty was named Sports Industries Federation Sports Retailer of the year Tamara Hill-Norton, Sweaty Betty's founder and Creative Director, was named the Harpers and Queen Entrepreneur of the Year in 2003. In 2007, Sweaty Betty was awarded the Customer Service Initiative at the Drapers Awards. In 2009, a Sweaty Betty boutique was awarded the Best Store Interior of the Year at the Retail Interiors Awards. In 2011, Sweaty Betty was awarded the Drapers Best Single-Brand Etailer Award. In 2013, Sweaty Betty won 'Most Active' as part of Britain's Healthiest Company Awards, a joint collaboration between Mercer, PruHealth and the Daily Telegraph. In 2015, Sweaty Betty won the award for 'Healthiest Employees' as part of Vitality Health Insurances' Britain's Healthiest Workplace Awards.
Cyber Attack
In 2019, Sweaty Betty's website was targeted by cyber-criminals, who inserted malicious code into its eCommerce website to capture customer card details during the checkout process.
