Fabletics Expands Stores As Omnichannel Sales Accelerate

One of Fabletics recent openings includes University Town Center in San Diego.

Courtesy of Fabletics

When Adam Goldenberg co-founded Fabletics in 2013, he saw an opportunity to disrupt the activewear market on three fronts: price, design, and inclusivity. “We just fundamentally believe the world’s best leggings shouldn’t cost over $100,” Goldenberg said. “We looked at what other brands were doing… and we know we can deliver an even better product, but do it at a price point that everybody can afford.”

Fabletics also set out to add color and fashion into what Goldenberg described as a “boring” category at the time, dominated by black and grey. The company was one of the first to introduce bold prints, celebrity collaborations, and a brand centered on fun and confidence rather than exclusivity or intimidation. “We saw Lulu of one extreme back, then being intentionally exclusive, and we saw Nike marketing to women the same way they market to men… we thought we could create a brand that was about having fun, feeling good about yourself, with models actually smiling.”

That strategy resonated. Today, Fabletics generates over $1 billion in annual sales, driven by its innovative VIP membership program, which fosters loyalty and repeat purchases. Roughly 80% of the brand’s three million customers are VIP members, accounting for about 95% of total revenue.

Physical retail has become a central pillar of that growth. After testing six locations in 2016, Fabletics has scaled its brick-and-mortar presence to more than 100 stores, with 15 additional openings planned this year. The brand’s most recent openings include its new Gen 5 store formats at NorthPark in Dallas, UTC La Jolla, and West County in St. Louis, with Century City and Del Amo in Los Angeles among the upcoming remodels.

“Retail is a pretty big part of our strategy now,” Goldenberg said. “We wanted to have an opportunity for customers to see and touch the product, and, being a membership business, community was important. We really believed retail stores could become a little bit of a community hub.”

Fabletics Technology-Driven Store Experience

Fabletics has adopted a data-driven approach to retail site selection, utilizing over 20 data points to evaluate potential new locations, with the number of existing members that live within a 30-minute drive being the most critical metric. “If you take someone who came into the brand online and then they also start shopping in retail stores, they’re about three and a half times more valuable to us,” Goldenberg explained. “If you open stores where you have a high concentration of customers, it’s sort of self-fulfilling.”

The stores themselves are designed to mirror the online experience, blending convenience with a sense of community. Approximately half of the store’s revenue comes from existing VIP members, while the other half is split between new retail shoppers and new membership sign-ups. One of the brand’s key differentiators is its proprietary POS application, which gives store associates access to each member’s wish list, cart history, and personalized recommendations. “They’re not just recommending random products,” Goldenberg said. “They know what the customer is interested in.”

The fitting rooms also offer a high-tech twist. Customers can use in-room iPads to request different sizes or styles, eliminating the need to flag down an associate during the try-on process. The system feeds back conversion data to Fabletics’ design team, creating a closed loop between in-store behavior and product development.

Over the past year, Fabletics has rolled out RFID technology across all stores, increasing efficiency in inventory management and replenishment while unlocking new insights into fixture productivity. Additionally, the company has hosted over 2,800 in-store events in the first half of 2025 alone, encompassing a range of activities from workout classes to member-exclusive shopping days.

Training and culture are another focal point. Fabletics recently launched a centralized digital training and communication platform for its nearly 1,700 store associates, achieving 80% engagement with over 90,000 visits and a quarter of a million pieces of content consumed. Associates receive a free outfit each month, paired with quizzes on new collections, and are encouraged to engage with designers and marketers through two-way communication. The brand has also launched an AI coaching tool, where store associates record their greetings or explanations of the membership program, and they receive immediate coaching tips.

These investments are paying off. Fabletics reported 11% same-store comps in 2023, nearly 20% in 2024, and 14% in the first half of 2025, leading to three consecutive years of double-digit gains in a retail environment where comps are increasingly challenging to achieve.

Fabletic’s Future Growth

Looking ahead, Fabletics plans to accelerate its store openings to 20–25 per year starting in 2025, while remaining disciplined about site selection. “There’s no set number that we have to open,” Goldenberg said. “If we can’t find the right locations and we need to open fewer, that’s fine. If we see amazing deals or amazing spots, we’ll open a few more.” Currently, about 75% of sales come from online and 22% from retail, with wholesale representing only a small slice through strategic placements in gyms, cruise lines, and other environments designed to drive trial.

International expansion is also on the horizon. The company recently opened its first location in Mexico and is exploring further growth in Western Europe and other global markets through strategic partnerships.

That international mindset and growth in the athleisure space reflect a greater trend following the success of Lululemon. According to ChainXY, Vuori, another rising athleisure brand, has opened 69 locations to date, and is now accelerating international expansion into Europe and Asia. Alo Yoga, which has steadily scaled its U.S. footprint, recently entered Latin America. And Athleta has expanded from about 150 locations in 2018 to more than 250 stores across the U.S. and Canada today. Together, these brands illustrate the strong post-Lululemon runway for athleisure, where physical stores remain a crucial engine for growth and community building.

For Goldenberg, the power of retail goes beyond immediate sales lift. Stores improve the effectiveness of digital advertising by 5-10% in each market, generate new members, and strengthen customer relationships throughout the community.

With its billion-dollar scale and loyal membership base, Fabletics is well-positioned to compete in this crowded landscape by combining its digital foundation with a rapidly evolving retail fleet. As Goldenberg put it, “The more stores we have, the more effective our digital advertising becomes, the more valuable our customers become, and the more new customers we bring into the brand.”