Footasylum Taps Gymshark Executive Hannah Mercer as New CEO

Footasylum named Hannah Mercer as its new CEO, effective in May, replacing David Pujolar, who stepped down in February after two years at the helm. The appointment lands at a telling moment for the Rochdale-based retailer: its most recent earnings report showed total revenue for fiscal 2025 climbed 9.4 percent to £349.5 million, while net profit surged 625 percent to £19.9 million.

Mercer takes up the role from the start of May, bringing more than three decades of experience across sportswear, fashion and premium retail. She joins from Gymshark, where she served as global general manager for wholesale, retail and franchise, overseeing global P&L and leading the expansion of the brand's physical retail, franchise and wholesale operations across international markets.

Her résumé reads like a map of the industry's most demanding global roles. Prior to Gymshark, Mercer spent more than six years at Adidas, holding a series of senior global vice president roles across retail operations, global retail and franchise, and global key cities, leading global retail strategy, large-scale store operations and execution across Adidas' most important markets. Earlier in her career, she served in senior leadership positions at Nike, Harrods, House of Fraser and Value Retail (Bicester Village).

Stephan Rahmede, senior representative of Aurelius WaterRise, the private equity group that owns Footasylum, made the strategic logic plain. "Hannah is a highly credible retail leader with experience building and scaling omnichannel brands across streetwear, sportswear and premium retail," Rahmede said. "We are confident that she will further develop Footasylum's customer experience as a leading athleisure fashion retailer. Aurelius is looking forward to working closely with her as Footasylum builds on its momentum and continues to scale."

Mercer herself has been direct about what she sees in the business. "Footasylum is a brand with a powerful identity, a highly engaged customer base and a unique position in youth culture," she said. "I have long admired the business and the way it connects with its communities, and I am excited to work with the team to build on these solid foundations. With strong momentum across the business, I see significant opportunity for further growth, both in the UK and internationally."

That growth is already taking shape on multiple fronts. Footasylum is a 21-year-old business with over 65 stores in the UK, carrying big-name brands alongside exclusive labels such as Monterrain, Zavetti Canada, Dripmade and Forena, and employing around 2,500 staff. Aurelius acquired it in 2022. The retailer has recently expanded its international footprint into the DACH and Gulf regions, while in the UK it has focused on opening new and upsized stores in key locations, supported by expanded funding from HSBC UK to facilitate both the store rollout programme and an increase in warehousing capacity.

Footasylum targets "16 to 24-year-old urban style leaders," a consumer group that has remained focused on discretionary style spend even in tougher economic conditions. Mercer's track record of building community-led retail at both Gymshark and Adidas suggests Aurelius has chosen a leader built precisely for that audience. The question now is how quickly she can translate three decades of global experience into traction at a brand that, for the first time in years, has the financial headroom to be ambitious.