King’s Road Sporting Club

This shop is best used to try clothing on but never to purchase in-​store because it is completely overpriced. First, I should have known better than to buy anything in Chelsea without checking online prices beforehand. Second, I should have known better than to buy anything from a shop which does not do returns (which the cashier kindly told me after she rung everything up).
That’s right. King’s Road Sporting Club does not process returns. If you are unhappy with your purchase (or happen to find it hella cheaper online like I did), your only options are to:
1) Keep your overpriced items and get drunk.
2) Take your overpriced items back to the store for an exchange or store credit — to be used against other totally overpriced items.
In a weak moment, I succumb to impulse buying and it cost me dearly.
Below is my example from today:
A) Nike Pro Capri II — £28. I found this capri online for £22.50 with free shipping.
B) Nike Gym Loose Obssessed Capri — £45. I found this capri online for £20 with free shipping.
My lesson learned from impulse buying at King’s Road Sporting Club is that I overpaid by £30.50. Given my total was £73, that’s quite the markup.
I am going to go drown my sorrows with a bottle of wine now. Mind you, it will be a very cheap bottle of wine.

I travelled all the way out to Chelsea to specifically visit the King’s Road Sporting Club — a retailer of all manner of gear, though given its location weighted on the side of rich-​people sports. I’d read online that the King’s Road Sporting Club had a couple choice fitness brands I like, and it looked like the only retailer in London that seemed to offer more than one type of yoga mat (ie, not a pvc-​laden sticky mat from China). As I was in the market for a second, travel yoga mat and I didn’t feel like ordering it online, I set out for Sloaney.
Overall, I was a bit disappointed. The sales floors were small and cramped. The layout of the shop wasn’t particularly logical, with various entrances off of King’s Road into what appeared to be entirely separate retail shops (that were joined by a corridor at the back). The selection of yoga mats — while, yes, better than anywhere else I’ve seen in London — still didn’t impress me, so I didn’t buy one.
Of particular note: If you’re looking for lululemon athletica gear, then this will be the only place in London you’ll find it (the selection, much like the selection of yoga mats, is admirable but not impressive). And it will be expensive — more expensive than it is in North America. But you’re not in North America. You’re in London. So there you go.
I didn’t buy anything. I ordered my second yoga mat online. Hey ho. There’s definitely a place for King’s Road Sporting Club in London. I’m just not sure I fit the demographic of people who belong in that place.

Probably the best place in London to get your sports attire, and they sell the full range of MBTs too. Well worth a visit even if it involves a trip on the Underground. This is the favourite shop for a lot of celebs too. The owner Michael Connitzer is such a character and always makes sure that he stocks what’s hot on the high street.