Fabletics

Fabletics is an American online subscription retailer that sells both men's and women's sportswear, footwear and accessories, commonly referred to as "athleisure".[3][4][5] The company is known for its e-commerce business approach and also has over 50 brick-and-mortar stores.[6][7][8] The brand has a membership program which is added automatically to the customer's cart at the time of checkout, if the customer chooses "VIP Membership."[9] The company then bills customers $49.95 every month until it is cancelled. The membership can be cancelled online or via phone and customers receive a store credit instead of a refund.[10][11] It offers its members personalized outfits chosen for them based on their lifestyle and fashion preferences[12] and claims to be "all inclusive" with a range of sizing.[13] It is a subsidiary of JustFab, which re-branded to TechStyle Fashion Group in August 2016.[14][15]

Fabletics, LLC
TypePrivate
IndustryRetail
FoundedJuly 2013 (2013-07)
FoundersAdam Goldenberg
Don Ressler
Kate Hudson
Headquarters
El Segundo, California
,
U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Don Ressler, CEO
ProductsWomen's sportswear and footwear
ServicesOnline subscription
Revenue$235 million[1]
ParentTechStyle Fashion Group[2]
Websitefabletics.com

History

Fabletics officially launched on October 1, 2013, and was co-founded by Kate Hudson.[16][17][18] In June 2015, Fabletics launched FL2, its men's activewear line with Kate Hudson's brother and actor, Oliver Hudson.[19] Kevin Hart joined the company as an official brand partner for its men's line in 2020.[20] In March 2016, the company expanded its inventory beyond athletic wear by adding dresse s and swimsuits.[21][22] 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.[23][24]

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.[25] In these locations, Fabletics stocks apparel based on analytics of its online trends.[7] The company added collections for dresses and swimwear in the spring of 2017.[26] In September 2017, Fabletics announced its first line of official footwear including slip-ons, lifestyle sneakers, and workout shoes.[27][28]

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. [29]

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.[30] 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.[31] 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.[32] In May 2017, the company announced a collaboration with singer Demi Lovato in support of the United Nations Foundation's Girl Up campaign.[33] In 2019, Fabletics also made collaboration lines with Kelly Rowland and Maddie Ziegler that are available to VIP and regular members.[34][35]

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.[36] A 2015 investigation of the parent company, JustFab, by Buzzfeed found 1,400 Better Business Bureau complaints against JustFab in just over three years.[36][37] The German law firm Lenné claims the behavior is "improper" ("sittenwidrig") according to German law. The lawyers report that Fablectics cancelled the membership of a customer after being requested to do so by the law firm, refunded the money and paid the lawyer's fees. [38] More recently, however, the company updated the manner in which its VIP Membership program was disclosed and made it easier to cancel a membership.[39]

References
  1. Wertz, Diana (4 August 2017). "Why Successful Brands Like Fabletics Leverage the Power of the Crowd". Huffington Post. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  2. Hamanaka, Kari (21 November 2016). "TechStyle's TechFirst Strategy Has It on Course to Hit $1B". Women's Wear Daily. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  3. "How Kate Hudson's Fabletics is cashing in on the athleisure craze". Yahoo Finance. 16 August 2016.
  4. Young, Katy Young (October 16, 2013). "Fabletics: Kate Hudson's new workout gear". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
  5. "Fabletics". JustFab Inc.
  6. Gibbs, Alexandra (2018-04-20). "Kate Hudson on Fabletics: I wanted to create a brand that was more about lifestyle than fitness". CNBC. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  7. Paul Armstrong (16 November 2016). "How Kate Hudson's Fabletics Is Taking On Amazon". Forbes. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  8. "Fabletics Retail Store". Fabletics. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
  9. "How Our Flexible VIP Membership Works". Fabletics. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
  10. "Is Kate Hudson's 'Fabletics' A Scam?". HuffPost. 2015-09-30. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  11. "Can I cancel my membership anytime?". Fabletics. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
  12. MacVean, Mary MacVean (November 2, 2013). "It's workout time with Kate Hudson, who's wearing her Fabletics gear". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
  13. Kell, John (19 October 2016). "Kate Hudson: It's Important Fabletics Is "All Inclusive"". Fortune. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  14. "JustFab Rebrands as TechStyle". Apparel. 18 August 2016.
  15. "JustFab Changes Name to TechStyle Fashion Group". Women's Wear Daily. 18 August 2016.
  16. "Kate Hudson's Fabletics Line Launches Today: Will You Shop It?". People.com. October 1, 2013. Archived from the original on May 10, 2015. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
  17. Lestch, Corinne Lestch (October 2, 2013). "Kate Hudson starts athletic apparel and accessories line Fabletics". New York Daily News. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
  18. Gibbs, Alexandra (2018-04-20). "Kate Hudson on Fabletics: I wanted to create a brand that was more about lifestyle than fitness". CNBC. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  19. Hughes, Aria Hughes (June 4, 2015). "Kate Hudson and Oliver Hudson Celebrate FL2 Launch". Women's Wear Daily.
  20. "Fabletics' Adam Goldenberg and Kevin Hart on what's next for the activewear empire". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  21. Bonner, Mehera Bonner (March 29, 2016). "Kate Hudson to the Lazy-Girl Rescue: Steal Her Secrets for Wearing Athleisure at Night". Marie Claire.
  22. Erdogan, Melodi Erdogan (April 5, 2016). "When Do Fabletics Dresses Come Out? Shop These Athleisure Styles, Stat". Bustle.
  23. Finger, Bobby (30 November 2015). "Kate Hudson's Fabletics Targets Lululemon, Visible 'Pussy' in New Commercials". Jezebel.
  24. "Kate Hudson Makes Her New Fabletics Spot 'Feel Like You're Scrolling Through Her Instagram Feed'". Adweek. 28 July 2016.
  25. Wertz, Diana (2017-08-04). "Why Successful Brands Like Fabletics Leverage the Power of the Crowd". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2017-08-17.
  26. Kaiser, Amanda (17 November 2016). "Kate Hudson's Fabletics Plans Aggressive Retail Expansion". Women's Wear Daily. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  27. Kari Hamanaka (19 September 2017). "Kate Hudson's Fabletics Launches Women's Footwear Push". WWD.
  28. Renee Cherry (19 September 2017). "Fabletics Just Launched Their First Line of Shoes". Shape.
  29. O'Connor, Clare. "Fabletics, Kate Hudson's Controversial Athleisure Brand, Plans To Open 100 Stores". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-03-18.
  30. Chapman, Adele (February 15, 2016). "Fabletics Plans to Open 100 Stores in the Next Few Years". Racked.
  31. Thomas, Lauren (2018-07-10). "Kate Hudson's Fabletics athleisure line plans to open 75 new stores in global push". CNBC. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
  32. Chabbott, Sophia (28 September 2016). "Kate Hudson Talks Fitness and Style as She Takes on Ambassadorship of Fashion Targets Breast Cancer". Women's Wear Daily. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  33. Tom Ward (June 6, 2017). "Kate Hudson: From 'Almost Famous' To Fabletics Greatness". Forbes.
  34. "Fabletics collaborates with Kelly Rowland on nineties nostalgia collection". Fashion Network. 9 January 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  35. "Kate Hudson and Maddie Ziegler team up for Fabletics". Malay Mail. 12 June 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  36. O'Connor, Clare. "Fabletics, Kate Hudson's Controversial Athleisure Brand, Plans To Open 100 Stores". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-04-19.
  37. Feldman, Jamie (2015-09-30). "Is Kate Hudson's 'Fabletics' A Scam? Unhappy Customers Weigh In". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-04-19.
  38. Lenné, Guido. "VIP Mitgliedschaft Fabletics kündigen und Geld zurück". Lenné (in German). Retrieved 2021-01-08.
  39. "Kate Hudson Was Destined For Hollywood Greatness. Then She Pivoted To Leggings". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.