Actress Kate Hudson’s activewear brand Fabletics will almost double its brick-and-mortar retail locations in 2017, adding 12 stores, including one in Boulder.
Founded as an online store in 2013, Fabletics’ expansion follows the growing click-and-mortar trend that has online outfits like Amazon, Birchbox, Casper and new-to-Denver evo opening retail locations. As store sales slow, traditional retailers continue to aggressively expand their online presence. Online retailers are pushing back with store locations, creating what the retail industry calls “omnichannel integration,” which blends the online and store shopping experience.
The 12 new Fabletics stores will bring the company’s store count to 30 by the end of 2017. Fabletics has a store in Denver’s Cherry Creek Shopping Center. Trade website Internet Retailer reported last year that Fabletics was pacing toward $250 million in online sales in 2016, fueling its push to open more retail locations.
Fabletics’ operations boss Dustin Netral said in a statement that the new stores — which will average about 2,200 square feet — will “enhance our overall brand experience” by “inviting customers to touch, feel and see the high quality fabrications, latest innovations and newest designs, while making it as easy as possible for them to shop the way they like.”
The Boulder store is scheduled to open in the second quarter of 2017, according to a news release from SGB Media.
Fabletics is partnering with mall developers — including Simon Property Group, Westfield and Macerich — to accommodate the expansion. Macerich, which developed FlatIron Crossing, includes Boulder’s 10-year-old, 850,000-square-foot Twenty Ninth Street mall in its portfolio. Twenty Ninth Street has been near full capacity in recent years but the Sports Authority Elite store recently closed as the Sports Authority brand collapsed.