Fabletics was founded in 2013. Through a partnership with actress Kate Hudson, who became the face of the company, Fabletics has become a popular brand. The company sells clothing, footwear and accessories for an active lifestyle. The company’s operating perimeter includes 64 retail stores in North America. Fabletics products can also be purchased online through the website or app. The company positions its product line as a cross between luxury yoga apparel brands like lululemon and mainstream apparel brands. Fabletics provides its customers with a unique membership service that allows them to participate in their daily outdoor apparel purchases, but customers are free to skip a month in which the assortment is unsuitable.
In 2017, parent company TechStyle contemplated selling Fabletics. At the time, the asset was valued at $ 1.5 billion. In addition to Fabletics, TechStyle owns brands such as JustFab and ShoeDazzle, so any parent company funding rounds are not entirely linked to Fabletics. TechStyle has raised at least $ 336 million in venture capital, according to Crunchbase. Given that Fabletics is largely considered the main brand of the company under Hudson’s patronage, it’s safe to assume that TechStyle has made a significant contribution to this brand.
In mid-July, rumors circulated in the market that Fabletics was attracting investment banks for a potential IPO. Currently, there is no information through what mechanism the company can go public, but we believe that Fabletics will choose the path through a traditional IPO rather than through SPAC. According to media reports, Fabletics would like to raise about $ 500 million through a public listing, which the company is likely to spend on investments in growth and business scaling.
The market is eagerly awaiting news of the upcoming deal, including the filing S-1 form, which will contain many financial and specific details about the upcoming IPO. As of the end of August, there was no information about the IPO in public sources, however, we learned that Fabletics plans to cooperate with major underwriters such as Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Barclays and Bank of America. We are also aware of the wishes of the management, who hope that the company will be able to achieve the $ 5 billion valuation.