Dive Brief:
- Allbirds could return to top-line sales growth in Q4 this year if the macroeconomic environment doesn’t change too much, CEO Joe Vernachio said on a call with analysts Thursday. That comes as the retailer reported an 18% decline in revenue in Q1.
- The footwear brand’s slate of new products is set to launch in the back half of the year, which includes updates to older franchises and new shoes like the “Cruiser.” Allbirds is also launching new collections, including an “Elevated” line of dressier shoe options and a “Relaxed” line of shoes for around the house.
- Revenue of $32.1 million in the first quarter came alongside a net loss of $21.9 million, narrower than last year’s $27.3 million loss. For the year, Allbirds expects revenue of between $175 million and $195 million, compared to $189.8 million in 2024.
Dive Insight:
Allbirds’ string of double-digit revenue declines could be nearing its end. According to Vernachio, the brand is about 100 days away from its turnaround strategy beginning to bear financial fruit.
“It’s the starting line, not the finish line,” Vernachio said of the effort.
The plan, which centers around better product, storytelling and shopping experiences, has several milestones coming in the next few months. A website redesign will launch this summer, pilots of a refreshed store concept are underway and a new lineup of products will hit this fall.
Vernachio called the brand’s fall lineup the “strongest and most diverse we’ve ever assembled.” While just three products were new in the first half of this year, over 50% of its assortment from July onward will be new, the executive noted. Allbirds is leaning into additional use-cases for its footwear with the Elevated and Relaxed collections: The former features sneakers and flats that look dressier but maintain comfort, while the latter is meant to be more casual for inside the house, but with enough style to be worn out.
The brand is also focusing its marketing efforts around comfort, style and quality, in addition to its original differentiator of sustainability. A content series with Stanley Tucci has shown encouraging results and is one of the ways the retailer is reintroducing itself to customers.
Paired with updated marketing and product assortments, Allbirds is changing up its store formats. Beginning with a location in San Francisco, Allbirds has updated some locations to feel “warmer,” more welcoming and easier to shop. That includes things like altering its footwear wall, which previously didn’t allow shoppers to pick up a shoe, and adding more areas for storytelling. Sales in the pilot store have “increased noticeably,” and Allbirds is rolling it out to two locations in New York’s SoHo neighborhood and Palo Alto, California.
“It’s very difficult to shop a shoe that you can’t pick up,” Vernachio said. That particular change has already been made across the fleet. But the rest of the refresh contains relatively minor changes as well. “It’s not a very expensive face lift. It’s very economical, but gets a really big, powerful financial lift for the stores.”
Executives didn’t talk much about the potential impact of tariffs, other than to say Allbirds was making more controlled inventory buys and keeping an eye on prices.