Fabletics Launches First Denim Collection
Athletic apparel maker Fabletics is launching its first denim collection, the company announced Tuesday, signaling the once white hot athleisure category is starting to slow down, reports CNBC. The collection, launching online and in select stores on Thursday, will include 11 styles across three levels of stretch and seven washes across both women’s and men’s. Items will be priced between $79.95 and $174.95, depending on whether shoppers are members of Fabletics’ subscription program.
The athletic wear company, which earned more than $1 billion in revenue last year, said denim is on an upswing and consumers are dressing up again, but looking for comfier options. “We’ve had over a million of our customers tell us that if Fabletics offered denim, they’d be highly interested in it, and that’s really what got us started,” Fabletics Co-Founder and CEO Adam Goldenberg told CNBC in an interview.
Total Retail's Take: Fabletics is responding to changes in consumer preferences as demand for athleisure stagnates years after its surge during the COVID-19 pandemic. The athletic apparel company's launch into denim follows two other successful product expansions into menswear and scrubs. Goldenberg said activewear is still Fabletics’ core product, but category expansion will be critical in winning more sales from its current customers and acquiring new shoppers. He emphasized that the expansion won't come at the expense of activewear.
"We need to be doubling and tripling down on our innovation and activewear while we make sure that we’re launching denim in a way that's truly the best product out there,” Goldenberg said. He added that comfort is still king for consumers.
Fabletics' moves to offer a wider variety of apparel to consumers mimics the efforts of other athleisure brands, including its prime competitor, lululemon. However, those efforts have seen mixed results results. Critics argue the athletic brands are straying too far and alienating core customers. However, the expansion strategy is working so far for Fabletics, with its customers spending more. Any new category launch still has to “have performance at its roots and be comfortable and be at a great price point,” Goldenberg said.
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Kristina Stidham is the digital content director at Total Retail and sister brands Women in Retail Leadership Circle and Women Leading Travel & Hospitality at NAPCO Media. She is passionate about digital media and handles video, podcast and virtual event production for all brands. You can often find her at WIRLC, TR, WLT&H or industry events with her camera and podcasting equipment—or at home on Zoom—recording interviews with thought leaders and business executives.
Kristina holds a B.A. in Media Studies and Production from the Temple University Klein College of Media and Communication in Philadelphia. Go Owls! When she's not in the office, she loves to go on long walks, sing around the house, hangout with her family and two pet guinea pigs, and travel to new places.
