Allbirds to take flight in fourth market in 2018
Allbirds, the merino wool shoe company cofounded by former New Zealand soccer star Tim Brown, has expanded into its third global market, launching in Australia last month, and it’s eyeing up more markets for next year.
San Francisco-based Allbirds started selling its minimalist woollen sneakers direct to consumers in March 2016 and has online operations in the US and New Zealand, shops in San Francisco and New York, and a steady stream of pop-up outlets.
The company expects to add a fourth market in 2018.
It’s also planning to open more US stores next year after launching its first store below its offices in San Francisco in April and its second in Soho in New York, in September, he said.
“When people buy shoes, they want to touch them, they want to wear them, they want to try them on and we have got a long way to go to really nail exactly what our point of view is on retail and how we do it really well, but so far the signs have been really positive so yes it’s a big part of our plans,” he said.
Allbirds began with a research grant from New Zealand’s wool industry, and an initial Kickstarter campaign in 2014.
In September this year it raised US$17.5 million ($24.9m) through US investment firm Tiger Global Management, adding to the US$10m ($14.2m) raised in previous funding rounds since 2015, and giving it money for further research and development into novel, sustainable materials, as well as to expand internationally and grow its retail footprint in New Zealand and the US.
It is the largest direct-to-consumer footwear brand in the world at the moment, and Brown said it is profitable, although he declined to provide details.
The fashion trend for natural fibres bodes well for New Zealand’s wool industry, with Allbirds sourcing its 17.5-micron merino fabric from Italian manufacturer Reda.
The 150-year old fabric maker is a major client of The New Zealand Merino Company and supplies luxury brands such as Giorgio Armani, Gucci, Tom Ford and Hugo Boss.