Fashion retailer inspires sustainability technology

Andrew Xeni speaks exclusively to Miya Knights, Retail Technology Publisher, about building ‘trusted data’ foundations to power retail’s regulatory and innovation future

RetailTechnology.co.uk recently caught up with Andrew Xeni, CEO of Fabacus, to explore how his product data technology company is helping major retailers tackle the dual challenges of emerging regulations and the ever-evolving demands of data-driven innovation. 

From tokenisation experiments to driving industry-wide standardisation, Xeni’s perspective offers a window into how “trusted data” is rapidly becoming the linchpin for retail execution, from AI applications to Digital Product Passports (DPPs). 

Building a trusted data foundation

Xeni said: “At its primary objective, Fabacus exists to create trusted data. Our core mission at Fabacus is to create trusted data. Once you have that, the possibilities are endless.” He added that good data integrity is a prerequisite for any downstream innovation. 

“AI very much has a dependency on good data to be able to do what it needs to do,” he said, underscoring why Fabacus partners with specialists rather than trying to own every technology layer.

The European Union’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) will mandate the use of Digital Product Passports (DPPs) across multiple product categories. DPPs will play a critical role in enabling compliance by providing structured, verifiable product data that supports circularity, transparency, and traceability throughout the product lifecycle.

Fabacus was pivotal to the pioneering use of DPPs by women’s fashion brand Nobody’s Child, of which Xeni is also the Founder and Chairman. At launch, the brand offered customers access to the DPPs via a QR code that also unlocked exclusive gifts and the ability to download a unique non-fungible token (NFT) from cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase via a digital receipt.

Developing technology enablers

While blockchain-based tokenisation and NFTs have captured headlines, Xeni is clear that  Fabacus’s role is as an enabler: “We partnered with Coinbase a couple of years ago for our early iterations, just to demonstrate to the world the art of the possible. 

“But that was never our end proposition. It’s ultimately our clients’ discretion what they want to do, when and how,” he said, underlining the platform’s agnostic architecture.

When asked about preparing retailers for impending regulations around sustainability, supply-chain transparency and DPPs, Xeni noted that Fabacus doesn’t wait for perfect conditions. 

“What I love is the terrible problems, because that’s the problem we want to solve. We go on the journey with them as they improve processes,” he added. By embedding data-governance practices within the onboarding process, Fabacus minimises hand-holding, even for clients who admit they’re “not ready yet”.

Gap analysis and stakeholder engagement

According to Xeni, the first step towards regulatory compliance is always understanding exactly what data attributes forthcoming regulations will mandate. “We have team members in expert groups advising governing bodies, so we’re as close to it as we need to be,” he noted. 

From there, Fabacus conducts a gap analysis of a client’s existing systems, data quality and stakeholder dependencies, bridging what he calls “the delta between what’s needed and what retailers understand”.

Understanding this delta is the enabling context in which Xeni frames other technology suppliers as allies in standardisation. Drawing lessons from his work in the licensing industry, he highlighted how proprietary workflows have historically bred inefficiency. 

“We found an undercurrent of frustration amongst licensees… because every licensor has their proprietary ways of working,” he recalled. By collaborating with major sourcing companies, Fabricus aims to streamline data exchange, reducing supplier pushback.

Xeni joked that while many vendors are already touting standalone DPP solutions, they’re effectively “selling the roof”. Fabacus, he said, by contrast, “sells the house”. 

The ‘house’ includes the entire data-foundation stack that makes DPPs, carbon calculators, and traceability tools scalable to match enterprise complexity. He added that this end-to-end approach has yielded solid pilot projects with three of the top five global retailers.

Cutting through the noise

Reflecting on how technology requirements have evolved, Xeni observes a shift in retailer attitudes. “I didn’t appreciate how much retailers were spending on their existing technology and architecture—keeping their lights on,” he admitted. 

Fabacus’s model, he argued, allows retailers to reallocate budget from maintenance and custom build projects into strategic data initiatives. Another common objection: “Our business is just too unique to adopt a standard platform,” is another hurdle Xeni confronted head-on. 

He recounted telling a leading fashion brand that while they cited 80 data partners, Fabacus clients can have over 2,000. “Unless you cut through that noise…, you can’t make an informed decision,” Xeni said, emphasising the importance of “adult conversations” with decision-makers when specifying new tech investments rather than procurement handlers.

On the question of which internal functions champion Fabacus implementations, Xeni identified two: regulatory compliance teams and supply-chain operations. “As regulations vary by market and category, that matrix becomes very complex. 

“When you start getting to scale with multiple suppliers, that’s a much bigger challenge,” he explained, affirming why Fabacus embeds data-assurance and governance resources within every engagement.

Opportunities not handcuffs

Regulation may be the catalyst, but Fabacus’s Reach module shows how compliance can unlock commercial growth rather than restrict it. Built to drive customer acquisition, upselling, and personalised engagement, Reach is designed to enable brands to activate product data across retail, marketplace, and direct-to-consumer channels. 

Built on Fabacus’s track record in the licensing industry, where it connects consumers to licensed products via QR codes, digital rewards, and exclusive content, Xeni said Reach enables the creation of targeted, data-driven campaigns that boost conversion, increase lifetime value, and open up new revenue streams, all without disrupting existing infrastructure.

Throughout the conversation, Xeni returned to the theme of possibility. With a robust, standardised data foundation in place, retailers can explore AI-driven personalisation, NFT-based loyalty experiences or carbon-footprint transparency—without rebuilding core systems. 

“We operate like the UN [United Nations] in this ecosystem: neutral, enabling, coordinating,” he joked. But he stated that his vision is very much rooted in pragmatic execution.

Fabacus’s “trusted data as a service” proposition is becoming a strategic imperative as the regulatory landscape tightens and consumer expectations for transparency grow. For retailers wrestling with complexity, Xeni’s message is clear: don’t wait for perfection—start with the data.