What is Competitive Landscape of FIGS Company?

How has FIGS reshaped medical apparel into a premium lifestyle brand?

FIGS transformed scrubs from commodity basics into design-led, healthcare-grade apparel via a DTC model, strong community marketing, and fabric innovation. Rapid growth and a loyal repeat customer base positioned it as a national leader by 2021.

FIGS competes on design, performance, and brand loyalty against legacy uniform suppliers and new DTC entrants; rising price competition and channel shifts now test its margin and growth strategy. See a focused analysis: FIGS Porter's Five Forces Analysis

FIGS designs premium medical apparel focused on engineered fabrics, tailored fits, and DTC e-commerce distribution, serving a customer base of clinicians and healthcare staff with a product mix led by scrub tops and pants plus growing accessories and outerwear.

Scale and Revenue

FIGS reported 2024 revenue estimated at roughly $500–550 million, with a customer file of several million healthcare professionals, placing it among the largest pure-play premium medical apparel brands in the U.S.

Market Focus

The company concentrates on the premium scrubs subsegment within a global medical apparel market sized at about $90–100 billion annually, holding top share in DTC premium scrubs and strong brand recognition among nurses and younger clinicians.

Product Mix

Core items are scrub tops and pants; lab coats, under-scrubs, outerwear, compression socks and limited footwear collaborations are increasing as percent of sales.

Channel Strategy

Sales are predominantly U.S.-based (often 85%+) and DTC e-commerce; FIGS limits wholesale and uses pop-ups and select partnerships to protect pricing and brand integrity.

Positioning has moved upmarket with proprietary fabric blends, tailored fits, frequent color drops and selective lifestyle extensions; gross margins are typically in the high‑50s to low‑60s percent range, above many traditional uniform suppliers.

Competitive Strengths and Constraints

FIGS benefits from strong brand equity, DTC economics and high margins, but faces constraints in institutional procurement and some international markets where price-driven buying dominates.

• Strength: Recognized premium brand among U.S. nurses and younger clinicians.
• Strength: High gross margins (~58–62%) driven by direct-to-consumer pricing.
• Constraint: Limited penetration in enterprise/institutional contracts dominated by private-label procurement.
• Constraint: International revenue remains small despite expansion into Canada, U.K., Australia and select EU/MEA/APAC markets.

Competitive dynamics include legacy uniform suppliers, athleisure entrants and fast-fashion players; see comparative strategic context and revenue models in Revenue Streams & Business Model of FIGS.

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FIGS generates revenue primarily through direct-to-consumer e-commerce and wholesale institutional contracts, with ancillary income from accessories and footwear collaborations; in 2024 DTC represented a majority of net revenue while enterprise and international channels contributed the remainder.

Monetization mixes product sales, subscription-like repeat purchases from clinicians, and limited B2B contract pricing; average order values and repeat purchase rates are key drivers of cash flow.

Wholesale breadth pressure

Careismatic Brands (Cherokee, Dickies Medical, HeartSoul) leverages broad wholesale distribution and institutional relationships to compete on price and size runs, forcing FIGS to defend procurement and channel breadth.

Brand-licensed innovation

Barco Uniforms uses licensed lines like Grey’s Anatomy and fabric R&D to target mid-premium buyers; retail presence and enterprise deals pressure FIGS on comfort and co-branded recognition.

DTC premium challenger

Jaanuu is a DTC-first rival with fashion-forward designs and antimicrobial fabrics, competing for the same online customer cohorts and using aggressive promotions to win share.

Footwear and accessories pull

Brands like Skechers Work and HOKA collaborations compete indirectly in on-shift footwear and accessories, reducing wallet share for FIGS’ adjacent categories.

Price-led private labels

Amazon private label and value brands present a price-first threat, especially among students and residents during downturns or constrained hiring periods.

Enterprise procurement influence

Regional uniform chains and hospital GPOs can steer large-volume contracts toward partners offering contract pricing and onsite fittings, limiting FIGS’ enterprise penetration.

Competitive dynamics in 2023–2024 saw intensified paid social spend and discounting as rivals fought for share amid softer healthcare hiring; M&A among wholesalers and licensing deals expanded brick-and-mortar assortments while new DTC entrants used TikTok/Instagram to capture younger clinicians.

Competitive implications and tactical priorities

Key pressures on FIGS market position derive from scale, price, channel reach, and social-first growth by competitors; measurable indicators to watch include market share shifts, gross margin trends, and customer acquisition costs.

• Careismatic’s scale and wholesale network pressure FIGS on breadth and procurement.
• Barco’s licensed brands and fabric innovation capture mid-premium shoppers.
• Jaanuu and other DTC entrants increase promotional intensity online.
• Private label/value brands undercut on price during economic stress.

Further reading on company origins and positioning: Brief History of FIGS

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Key milestones include rapid DTC growth since 2013, IPO in 2021, and sustained high repeat rates driven by color drops and limited editions; strategic moves: vertical integration with key mills, investments in proprietary fabrics, and mission-led marketing; competitive edge: strong unaided awareness in the U.S. premium scrubs segment and superior gross margins from DTC economics.

FIGS competitive landscape shows durable advantages from product innovation, community-driven loyalty, and supply chain agility, while facing copycat risk and rising paid media costs.

Brand equity and community

High unaided awareness in the U.S. premium scrubs market underpins retention: reported Net Promoter Score near 60 and repeat-purchase cohorts exceeding 40% in 2024, driven by limited-edition drops that sustain full-price sell-through.

DTC economics & data flywheel

Direct-to-consumer relationships yield higher gross margins (company reported adjusted gross margin around 62% in FY 2024) and enable rapid feedback on fit and demand, reducing markdowns versus wholesale-heavy peers.

Product & fabric innovation

Proprietary fabric blends (stretch, moisture-wicking, anti-wrinkle) and tailored fits differentiate on comfort and performance; frequent style refreshes maintain relevance while avoiding over-assortment.

Content, influencers & mission

Authentic storytelling about healthcare workers, scholarships, and philanthropy lowers customer acquisition cost over time and strengthens loyalty; influencer partnerships emphasize mission-first positioning in the medical apparel market.

Supply chain agility is supported by a concentrated SKU architecture and rapid color rotations; relationships with key mills and factories create cost leverage and improved inventory turns versus broader assorters.

Durability & Risks to Advantage

Advantages remain durable if FIGS sustains product leadership, community engagement, and disciplined inventory management while expanding carefully into adjacent categories.

• Risk: copycat designs and fabric parity from rivals can compress differentiation and pricing power.
• Risk: rising paid media costs could erode customer acquisition economics despite strong NPS.
• Mitigation: sustained R&D in fabric blends and strict SKU cadence help preserve sell-through and margins.
• Competitive context: FIGS competitors include established healthcare uniform brands and newer athleisure healthcare competitors; see the company’s positioning in Target Market of FIGS for more detail.

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FIGS occupies a strong premium DTC position in the medical apparel market, with brand equity, product cadence, and margins that have historically exceeded industry averages; risks include channel gaps in enterprise/GPO sales, margin pressure from promotion-heavy competitors, and sensitivity to clinician discretionary spend. The outlook calls for disciplined customer acquisition, measured international expansion, and continuous fabric and fit innovation to defend FIGS’ market position.

Post‑pandemic normalization

Demand stabilized after PPE spikes, but premiumization and self‑expression in scrubs persist; e‑commerce share of uniform sales continues rising, supporting FIGS’ DTC model.

Fabric and fit as table stakes

Antimicrobial treatments, stretch blends, recycled content and inclusive sizing are required; investments in proprietary textiles and sizing data improve returns and reduce churn.

Channel shift in procurement

International procurement is slowly liberalizing from GPO-driven buying to clinician choice, opening direct and hybrid channels in markets like Canada and the U.K.

Workforce and budget pressure

Staffing churn and hospital budget constraints increase sensitivity to price, favoring value tiers and private‑label offerings in some segments.

Key trends validate FIGS’ focus on premium DTC, but competitive intensity and macro sensitivity require tactical shifts in channels and product mix.

Competitive threats and challenges

FIGS faces multifront competition that compresses margins and raises acquisition costs.

• Large wholesalers and legacy uniform suppliers retain strong enterprise/GPO relationships, limiting share in institutional channels.
• Direct‑to‑consumer athleisure players and fast fashion retailers target market share with lower price points and heavy promotions.
• Paid social algorithm changes could elevate customer acquisition cost (CAC); FIGS reported FY2024 gross margins around 63%, which could compress under promotional pressure.
• Macro headwinds may shift clinician purchases toward lower‑priced tiers, reducing average order value and lifetime value.

Opportunities let FIGS leverage brand strength and product innovation to expand reach and diversify revenue.

International expansion

Low penetration in Canada, U.K./EU and Australia presents upside; even modest market share gains could add meaningful revenue given FIGS’ FY2024 net revenue of approximately $600M.

Product adjacencies

Footwear, outerwear and accessories can lift basket size and retention; curated limited drops and collaborations sustain pricing power and community engagement.

Selective wholesale pilots

Shop‑in‑shop near hospital hubs or selective wholesale can access clinician foot traffic while preserving DTC brand control.

Enterprise and data plays

Tailored enterprise offerings for health systems and data‑driven sizing tools reduce returns and open institutional contracts otherwise held by incumbents.

Execution priorities should balance disciplined CAC management, international roll‑outs, cautious channel diversification into GPO/enterprise, and continued investment in fabric and fit to stay ahead of FIGS competitors and emerging athleisure healthcare competitors; see Mission, Vision & Core Values of FIGS for brand context.

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