Fabletics


Fabletics is an American online subscription retailer that sells women's sportswear, footwear and accessories, commonly referred to as "athleisure". The company is best known for its e-commerce business approach and also has 22 brick-and-mortar stores. It offers its members personalized outfits chosen for them based on their lifestyle and fashion preferences and claims to be "all inclusive" with a range of sizing. It is a subsidiary of JustFab, which re-branded to TechStyle Fashion Group in August 2016.

History

Fabletics officially launched on October 1, 2013. In June 2015, Fabletics launched FL2, its men's activewear line with Kate Hudson's brother and actor, Oliver Hudson. In March 2016, the company expanded its inventory beyond athletic wear by adding dresses and swimsuits. The company has repeated gained press exposure for their advertising tactics; including targeting competitor Lululemon and using footage shot by Hudson on her cell phone.
According to Forbes, Fabletics has increased its revenue by 35% each year, with a valuation of $250 million within its first three years of business. The company uses pop-up stores and crowd marketing to increase membership. In these locations, Fabletics stocks apparel based on analytics of its online trends. The company added collections for dresses and swimwear in the spring of 2017. In September 2017, Fabletics announced its first line of official footwear including slip-ons, lifestyle sneakers, and workout shoes.
Fabletic's VIP membership plan has raised some controversy due to the lack of clarity of the conditions and the difficulty to cancel the membership. Fabletic's VIP Membership plan is a monthly subscription of $49.95. VIP members have the option of skipping the month or paying for the monthly membership. Members who pay the $49.95, will go towards the VIP account and can be spent whenever. Members who opt-out paying for the month must do so before the 5th of every month. If members choose to cancel, they can do it over the phone, chat, or online.

Location

In September and October 2015, Fabletics opened its first brick and mortar retail stores in malls owned and operated by Westfield and General Growth Properties Inc. In February 2016, Forbes reported that 75 to 100 Fabletics stores are scheduled to open over the next three to five years. As of July 2018, the company has a presence in a total of 10 countries, with plans of opening up new stores in the Philippines for the first time by fall of the same year. As of 2020, Fabletics has opened 42 stores in North America.

Partnerships

Hudson was named the ambassador for Fashion Targets Breast Cancer with Fabletics partnering on a pink capsule collection to support breast cancer awareness. In May 2017, the company announced a collaboration with singer Demi Lovato in support of the United Nations Foundation's Girl Up campaign. In 2019, Fabletics also made collaboration lines with Kelly Rowland and Maddie Ziegler that are available to VIP and regular members.

Criticism

The company's subscription business model has been criticized. If subscribers forget to notify Fabletics parent JustFab within the first five days to "skip" the month, the customer is charged anyway. Members receive credit towards future purchases if they forget. A 2015 investigation of the parent company, JustFab, by Buzzfeed found 1,400 Better Business Bureau complaints against JustFab in just over three years.