Fab Unveils Private-Label Products And A Physical Showroom In NYC

Senior executives at design-oriented e-commerce startup Fab.com are in the midst of determining what the company’s future could look like in a series of strategy meetings this week. But that’s not stopping it from moving forward with a bold new initiative to introduce a series of private-label and exclusive products for its customers.

In an email to customers today, Fab introduced the first wave of its new private-label offerings under the “Happy Modern” brand. The products — some of which were designed in-house and some of which were licensed but sold exclusively through Fab.com, are being released under a series of collections designed to appeal to different aesthetic sensibilities.

The collection is what Fab calls “a celebration of great design and quality craftsmanship at amazing price points,” and gives us a view into what the future of Fab’s e-commerce business could look like as it pivots away from partnering with third-party manufacturers to develop its own distinct line of products.

Fab will be introducing the products to customers on a rolling basis over the next several weeks and months, but gave customers a preview of what is to come. The first group of products falls under the “Joy Collection,” which includes a series of bedding, rugs, and bath textiles. Other products to be announced over the coming weeks include the Nordic Collection, which appears to feature Nordic-influenced furniture pieces, a sofa collection, and an exclusive collection of scarves from Caroline Z Hurley.

Later this evening it will be unveiling the new products in a press preview at a new physical showroom in New York’s SoHo district. That space will remain a home for Fab’s physical products until the end of June, according to Fab spokesperson Amy Juaristi as the online retailer seeks to showcase its new goods in an offline space.

For Fab, the focus on designing its own products and licensing exclusive products from partner designers comes as the latest in a series of pivots that the company has made over the years. Once a social networking site, then a flash sales site, Fab is now looking to differentiate itself with a line of private-label and exclusive merchandise. To do so, it’s hoping to leverage the large customer base that it had amassed over the previous few years.

But those changes don’t come easy. Fab has seen that plenty over the past year, which has seen it shed hundreds of employees through multiple rounds of layoffs — and it could see more.

As it approaches this latest pivot, Fab executives are meeting this week to discuss the company’s next strategic plan. While it’s unclear what that means for Fab’s remaining employees or the company’s business going forward, it appears that CEO Jason Goldberg might be comfortable with focusing the business solely on private-label and exclusive merchandise, and just trying to be really good at that.