FIGS has created a new category (and culture) for fashionable, more-functional medical apparel. 

The stated goal of the brand is to be a premium brand in an otherwise staid/dull industry, doing for medical apparel what Starbucks did for coffee, and Lululemon did for workout clothes. Just imagine how thankful all the (very) affluent medical professionals are for FIGS’ fresh approach.

When it IPO’d in 2021, FIGS was valued at $4.57 billion within the $10 billion US medical apparel industry (Global industry valued at $50 billion). While its share price has followed other DTC players (downward) since its IPO, the market segment (TAM) it is focused on is profound.

The lesson for DTC brands here is less about what marketing can do, more about the importance of category design, positioning and finding important (un-tapped) TAM’s to focus on.

FIGS has created a new category from inside the medical apparel industry, rescuing it (and medical professionals) from being dull.
As the culture defining brand, FIGS is in the drivers seat when it comes to shaping the next moves in the category.

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