The Sweatshop, the largest specialist retailer for runners in the United Kingdom, has launched a new retail format with a pilot store in the Bluewater shopping mall near London to benefit from the stupendous growth of the British women’s running market. Called She Runs He Runs, the unit should be the first of a chain intended to cater for new runners who might feel intimidated by the atmosphere of traditional running stores. The management of The Sweatshop intends to roll out the concept over the next few years with the opening of at least six more She Runs He Runs doors in such shopping malls as Meadowhall and Trafford Centre.

The Sweatshop has already established its presence in the British running market with 26 stores spread around the country, including some small units in fitness centers. She Runs He Runs will clearly differentiate itself from The Sweatshop through its location in shopping malls as well as its more women-friendly environment. The first 3,100-square-foot unit will be partly staffed by women. It will feature treadmills with large plasma screens, and offer health checks and training runs to help the starting runners along.

The plan came about as Sweatshop’s managers acknowledged the rise of the so-called “Race for Life” runners, who have triggered a second running boom in the UK. They are often women who enter the running market to train and take part in a mass running event, sometimes for charity purposes. The retailer estimates that this trend has spurred double-digit growth in the British women’s running market for the last two years.

This phenomenon has largely altered the dynamics of the British running market. Twenty years ago it was entirely male-dominated, to the extent that Runners World could claim more male readers than Playboy magazine. Just five years ago the proportion of men still stood at about 80 percent. However, the Sweatshop estimates that women currently account for about 40 percent of the British market. Bluewater was chosen as a location for the first She Runs He Runs store precisely because 76 percent of the shoppers at the mall are women.

The Sweatshop was founded in 1971 by Chris Brasher, winner of the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, who went on to co-found the London Marathon and to set up his business as an importer for Reebok. Pentland Group has been using his name for a line of boots.

Currently run by his son, Hugh Brasher, The Sweatshop is expected to reach sales of about £12.5 million (€18.6m-$24.6m) excluding VAT this year. Along with their specialist running assortment, some of the Sweatshop stores sell a range of tennis gear - another sport that runs in the family since Hugh Brasher’s mother won the French Open in 1957, then under the name of Shirley Bloomer.

The Sweatshop’s leading specialist competitor is Up and Running, a chain of 21 partly franchised running stores, mostly located in downtown areas.