Sezzle Expands BNPL Network with Gymshark, Debenhams, and Follett Higher Education Partnerships

Sezzle has expanded its merchant network by partnering with Gymshark, Debenhams Group, and Follett Higher Education. For fintech professionals, this move signals a strategic push into high-volume retail sectors during a record-breaking back-to-school season, capturing a demographic that increasingly favors flexible payment structures over traditional revolving credit lines to manage essential costs.

What was announced

Sezzle is integrating its Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) solution into three major retail categories: fitness apparel, fashion, and campus retail. The partnership with Gymshark makes Sezzle available at checkout on Gymshark.com for customers in the United States. The Debenhams Group integration covers five distinct brands: Debenhams, boohoo, MAN, PrettyLittleThing, and Karen Millen. This allows shoppers across these fashion and beauty platforms to select Sezzle as a payment option during the checkout process.

Perhaps most significant for the student demographic is the deal with Follett Higher Education, North America’s largest operator of collegiate retail stores. Sezzle is currently live in Follett’s physical campus locations, with an online rollout scheduled to follow. This provides over 7.5 million students across more than 1,000 college retail stores with a method to finance course materials, technology, and apparel. The timing coincides with a projected $103.5 billion back-to-college spending season, the first time that figure has crossed the $100 billion threshold.

According to a National Retail Federation survey, 23% of shoppers are deliberately spreading out their budgets this year. Furthermore, the Education Data Initiative reports that 63% of college students have previously skipped purchasing a required textbook due to high costs. Sezzle’s platform displays full payment schedules before an order is confirmed, aiming to provide transparency and cash-flow control without the revolving interest associated with traditional credit cards.

"Shoppers shouldn't have to choose between what they need now and what fits their budget this month," said Paul Paradis, President and cofounder at Sezzle. "Gymshark, Debenhams Group, and Follett reach millions of people across fitness, fashion, and campus life, and all three now offer a way to pay that puts shoppers in control of their cash flow. Brands of this caliber choosing Sezzle tells us the model is working; for merchants and for their customers."

Paul Paradis, President at Sezzle.

The companies involved

Sezzle is a NASDAQ-listed (SEZL) digital financial platform focused on providing point-of-sale financing and digital payment services. The company positions itself as a tool for financial empowerment, particularly for younger generations, through an app that combines shopping, earning, and learning. Its loans are issued by Sezzle and third-party lenders, including WebBank, a frequent partner in the fintech space. Debenhams Group is a leading online retail platform that has evolved from its traditional department store roots to house several prominent e-commerce brands like PrettyLittleThing and boohoo. Dan Finley serves as the CEO of Debenhams Group.

Gymshark, founded in 2012, has grown into a global leader in fitness apparel and accessories, serving a worldwide fitness community. Follett Higher Education operates as the primary retail partner for over 1,000 campuses across North America, serving millions of students. These partnerships place Sezzle in direct contact with Gen Z consumers, a group where more than half report using BNPL more frequently than credit cards, according to research from Motley Fool Money. This network expansion reinforces Sezzle’s position as a bridge between enterprise-level retailers and budget-conscious consumers.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has tracked Sezzle’s evolution as it scales its enterprise capabilities. We previously covered how Pagaya and Sezzle Partner to Launch AI-Driven Point-of-Sale Financing for Enterprise Merchants, a move designed to enhance credit decisioning for larger retail partners. Additionally, our coverage of Sezzle’s primary lending partner, WebBank, includes their involvement in broader financial infrastructure, such as when Flex Files for Utah Industrial Bank Charter to Scale Rent Payment Solutions. The fintech sector’s shift toward high-yield offerings and alternative banking has also been a recurring theme, as seen in our report on how Klarna Disrupts US Banking with High-Yield Savings Accounts and 3% APY. These developments highlight a broader trend of BNPL providers maturing into comprehensive financial services platforms.

What this means

This expansion into the collegiate and fast-fashion sectors places significant pressure on traditional credit card issuers who are losing ground with Gen Z. By embedding itself into the essential "back-to-school" workflow—specifically for high-cost items like textbooks—Sezzle is moving beyond discretionary fashion into necessary educational expenses. This shift raises questions for the industry about the long-term sustainability of the BNPL model if regulatory scrutiny increases on "hidden" debt. However, for now, the ability to capture millions of students at the point of purchase gives Sezzle a powerful data advantage over legacy lenders who lack this level of merchant-level integration.