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For Sale: Allbirds Shoes, Never Worn

Allbirds, the trendy wool shoe company that made headlines in 2021 with a $4 billion valuation on its first day of trading, agreed to sell all of its assets for $39 million yesterday to American Exchange Group, the owner of the Ed Hardy brand.

Popular among ~~people who call themselves disruptors on LinkedIn~~ the Silicon Valley crowd, Allbirds embarked on a precipitous fall not long after an IPO that raised $348 million, enabling the company to grow too big, too fast:

The eco-friendly shoemaker expanded to 60 brick-and-mortar stores globally by the end of 2023. Now, it will shutter all but two outlets and two retail spots.
It also introduced new products that didn’t sell. That included leggings, which the company discovered were see-through after ordering tens of thousands in 2022. They were discontinued a year later.

Allbirds ended every year as a public company in the red, per FactSet. Sales fell from a high of $297.8 million in 2022 to $189.8 million last year.

Wild ride: After word of the sale broke, the share price jumped 36% after hours on Monday, then plummeted as much as 16% during mid-day trading yesterday before finishing slightly up at close.

Next step: Allbirds will seek shareholder approval for the sale at the end of this month. The deal is expected to close in Q2.—DL

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For Sale: Allbirds Shoes, Never Worn

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