Fab launches new custom furniture site called Hem

Fab has been transitioning toward custom design furniture over the last year or so

In recent months Fab has been transitioning away from from its earlier model, in which it resold items made by others through flash sales, and into a company that sells its own line of designer goods.  

Specifically, the company has been edging towards becoming a custom-design furniture company. It even launched its own retail store, as well as a custom furniture website, with its own line of sofas, dining tables and other home furnishings in April.

Now Fab is getting ready for the next phase: it is going to launch a brand new company which will specifically deal with “private label furnishings," Fab CEO Jason Goldberg revealed via a Twitter post on Wednesday.

1/ Say hello to Hem @tweetsfromhem a new brand from @Fab launching this fall. Learn more & sign up for VIP https://t.co/6D1QZ4UqR8.

— Jason Goldberg (@betashop) July 2, 2014

The company will be called Hem. In a series of comments on the original tweet, Goldberg noted that the service will launch in 30 countries in September of 2014 and will feature "a full-stack design company: everything from design to product development to manufacturing to technology & logistics.”

It is important to note that the company is going to be a spin-off from Fab, rather than a total rebranding. Hem will feature furnishings from Fab, as well as two companies it recently purchased: German furniture maker Massivkonzept, and Finnish designer furniture company One Nordic.

Here is how Hem describes its mission on its website: "We cut out the middlemen and work directly with some of the top factories in Europe. This enables us to ensure the highest quality craftsmanship while passing along the lowest possible prices to consumers."

Fab's transition

Fab has had a few really rough years, and pivoting away from flash-sales seems to be the company's last, best hope to survive. But the transition that Fab is currently undertaking has been anything but easy. The company has been shedding hundreds of jobs, and even encountered rumors that it would be shutting down completely. 

Fab’s workforce has been whittled down to around 200 from a peak of 700. long the way, the company also lost several of its long-term executives, including its own co-founder, Bradford Shellhammer, who left the company in November. COO Beth Ferreira also announced that she was leaving the same month. 

Goldberg has taken responsibility for what has happened to the company under his watch, and the company has taken some steps to try to make this right for the employees who were hurt by having Goldberg forego his entire salary this year. 

The company no doubt sees its only chance at survival in custom goods, and it is likely that furniture is only the first line that it will open, if it is successful.

In addition to the two furniture companies that Fab purchased, it also acquired assets from myFab, a home decor and designer furniture portal in France, back in October of last year.

(Image source: hem.com)