Allbirds’ $93m loss as revenue falls 25%, adds Stanley Tucci as pitchman

Pivot from the tech bros.: Allbirds' new pitchman is Stanley Tucci - the 64-year-old star of the Oscar-nominated Conclave.

Allbirds losses narrowed with its fourth-quarter and full-year results reported this morning, but its sales continued to fall and it forecast more red ink ahead.

The maker of sustainable footwear and activewear made from New Zealand Merino wool and other material, co-founded by ex-All White Tim Brown, today reported that its full-year 2024 revenue fell 25.3% to US$189.8 million compared to US$254.1m.

It’s full-year net loss was US$93.1m from a net loss of US$152.5m in 2023. It’s fourth-quarter net loss narrowed to US$25.7m from the year-ago US$56.8m.

Allbirds’ full-year ebitda loss of US$70.0m was a hair ahead of revised-down guidance and an improvement from 2023’s US$78.5m.

The company finished its financial year (which coincides with the calendar year) with US$67.5m in cash from a year-ago US$130.7m.

Fourth-quarter gross margin shrank to 31.3% from the year-ago 38.0%.

The decline was blamed, in part, on costs associated with store closures in the US and a move from direct sales to a distributor model for the rest of the world.

Allbirds forecast revenue of between US$175m and $195m for 2025, its ebitda loss narrowing to between US$55m and US$65m.

It is looking to pep up its profile with a new content marketing series, announced last month, fronted by Stanley Tucci. The 64-year-old star of the Oscar-nominated Conclave hosts a series of “dream dinner party” video vignettes that feature guests including Queer Eye presenter Tan France, Formula 1 driver Carlos Sainz and the Spice Girls’ Melanie C.

The company has faced something of a perfect storm. In 2023, the Wall Street Journal ran a front-page story saying Allbirds had fallen out of fashion with the Silicon Valley tech bros who helped fuel its initial rise. The paper also ran gripes about the durability of its footwear (which Allbirds pushed back against). It was already reeling from supply chain problems caused by the pandemic. Then there were Amazon dupes, made by Amazon itself, plus the global economic slowdown.

Allbirds closed its flagship San Francisco store – its first bricks-and-mortar outlet – in the fourth quarter, bringing store closures for the year to 14.

Since its restructure began in 2022, the firm has reduced store numbers from 58 to 33.

Last year, Allbirds said Auckland- and Gold Coast-based Compendium had become its distributor and “brand custodian” for Australasia, “including our spiritual home of New Zealand”.

Brown resigned as co-chief executive in 2023 but remains on the board.

The firm is now led by Joe Vernachio, a former executive with The North Face.

Shares fell 3.9% to US$6.16 in the regular session. It was down to US$5.82 in after-hours trading.

The stock hit an all-time high of US$520 (split-adjusted) shortly after listing on the Nasdaq in November 2021. Last year, Allbirds carried out a 20:1 reverse split after a de-listing warning. The Nasdaq issued a compliance notice after the firm’s stock traded under US$1 for more than 30 consecutive days.

Chris Keall is an Auckland-based member of the Herald’s business team. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is the technology editor and a senior business writer.