Allbirds Slows Store Openings As Sales Drop

Allbirds is no longer soaring.

For the first time in its history, the company failed to post year-over-year quarterly sales growth. The footwear and apparel company recorded $84.18 million in fourth-quarter revenue, a 13% year-over-year decline from $97.2 million — and missing analysts’ estimates of $96.8 million.

The company attributed the decline to “a decrease in the number of orders and an estimated $3.2 million negative impact from foreign exchange.”

Allbirds’ net loss widened to $24.9 million in the fourth quarter and $101.4 million in its first full year as a public company.

Revenue for the full year increased 7.3% to $297.8 million — up 35.8% from 2020. In the U.S., net revenue increased 9.5% to $229.8 million.

Joey Zwillinger, Allbirds’ co-founder and co-CEO, told CNBC that its poor performance is partially attributed to losing “sight of what our core consumer fell in love with us for in the first place” — a reference to the company’s deeper dive into high-performance running products.

In its earnings release, Allbirds revealed a new transformation plan that includes optimizing U.S. stores and slowing the pace of openings, improving cost savings and capital efficiency, reigniting products and the brand, and evaluating the transition of “international go-to-market strategy.”

The company has more than 50 stores in over 35 countries.

For the first quarter of 2023, Allbirds expects a 20% to 28% year-over-year decline in revenue to $45 million to $50 million.