Allbirds to close nearly all its physical stores by February

Allbirds, the shoe brand once closely associated with mid-2010s San Francisco tech culture, is shutting down the bulk of its brick-and-mortar retail by the end of February. When the closures are complete, only two outlet stores in the U.S. and two full-price stores in London will remain.

“This is an important step for Allbirds, as we drive toward profitable growth under our turnaround strategy,” CEO Joe Vernachio said in a statement. “We have been opportunistically reducing our brick-and-mortar portfolio over the past two years. By exiting these remaining unprofitable doors, we are taking actions to reduce costs and support the long-term health of the business.”

Allbirds was founded in San Francisco in 2015 and quickly became a favorite among startup employees — the company even gave TechCrunch staffers branded pairs of its shoes as swag in the brand’s early years. Its wool sneakers built a reputation as a comfort-first alternative in the same vein as Skechers, though priced higher. That popularity helped Allbirds raise enough venture capital to reach a unicorn valuation before it went public in 2021. The stock has struggled since: Allbirds’ market capitalization is now about $32 million, and shares trade at just a few dollars each under the Nasdaq ticker $BIRD.

The retail pullback does not amount to a full exit from the market — Allbirds’ shoes remain available online. But the closures cap a two-year effort to shrink an unprofitable store footprint as the company works toward its turnaround.

Why it matters

Allbirds’ retreat from physical retail is a visible marker of how far a brand once symbolic of Silicon Valley startup culture has fallen since its 2021 public debut, and a reminder of how thin the margin for profitability has become for consumer brands built during the last venture-funding boom.