2024 Champion Award Winner
PROFILE OF A CHAMPION: FAB’RIK
The Intersection of Passion, Purpose and Profit
fab’rik was nominated and selected by fellow Georgia business leaders for weaving purpose into their business model and improving the lives of thousands of women every day – both in their stores and in the larger community.
“fab’rik was founded with a simple but important mission: create a place that gives all women the joy and confidence to take on their day, see their own beauty and possibly inspire confidence to change the world!” says Dana Spinola, Founder and CEO of fab’rik. “Every day our team strives to make women feel beautiful, one piece of fabric at a time.”
Since opening its doors in 2002 Dana Spinola has been on mission to create a place where every woman could afford to feel beautiful. What started as a passion for fashion, fab’rik has grown into a wildly successful company with over 300 employees and 30 franchise locations nationwide.
Excerpts taken from the interview with Dana Spinola, Founder & CEO, fab’rik
Turning Passion into Profit
As a child, I didn’t grow up with money. My mom made all my clothing – which I thought was like having a personal stylist. The idea of shopping at a boutique seemed like such a dream to me – walking around a beautiful store, being offered a glass of champagne – all the little things that make a boutique experience so special. So, I asked myself, “Could I create a place that you didn’t have to have a million dollars to feel like a million dollars?”
That was the entire idea behind fab’rik. It’s all about making women feel beautiful, one piece of fabric at a time.
Adding Purpose that Inspires
We will always serve our customers, but what if we could have a boutique where everything doesn’t cost less than $100, but instead, is completely free? That was the idea behind free fab’rik, a completely free boutique experience, with beautiful chandeliers and beautiful clothing, but located inside of safehouses and shelters. This experience is something we offer to women facing difficult circumstances, for whom clothing may not be a priority, but it’s something that makes them feel more beautiful, powerful and dignified.
The power of an outfit is so beautiful, but for me, the idea that my passion – clothing – could do something so powerful in these women’s lives that was incredible to see. Bringing together passion and purpose is really what makes fab’rik.
Giving Purpose a Daily KPI
One of the key performance indicators (KPIs) at every fab’rik store is “wow.” We have all the traditional KPIs that every CEO knows, but it was important to me that we quantify the “purpose” of fab’rik. Wows come in all different forms, but what is inspiring about them is that you get to see and quantify what is essentially a million different nonprofits that play out all day when we show up for people in the way that they need in that specific moment.
What I think CEOs don’t know is the importance of giving your team license to practice the purpose in different ways, and that is what I celebrate. We track purpose with the daily “wow” KPIs and celebrate it at all our company meetings.
