Dive Brief:
- Allbirds on Tuesday released a new vintage-inspired sneaker style called the Courier, according to a company press release.
- The Courier — available online and in stores — is available in five colorways and is priced at $125.
- Allbirds’ latest sneaker uses materials such as organic cotton canvas, Tencel Lyocell (a eucalyptus tree fiber) and natural rubber.
Dive Insight:
The Courier debuts as Allbirds works on a company-wide transformation plan.
“Versatility is the hallmark of the Courier. We know our customers lead on-the-go, dynamic lifestyles, so they need footwear that looks and feels great across all sorts of settings,” Ashley Comeaux, vice president of product design at Allbirds, said in a statement. “We’ve taken our Allbirds design ethos of simplicity and unparalleled comfort, and elevated it with a heritage look that can fit the many moments of our customers’ busy lives.”
The brand previously expanded into the apparel category in 2020, though it has since minimized its offerings. Allbirds has steadily increased its footwear options, however, with the launch of its performance sneaker in 2020 and the June debut of its zero-carbon footprint sneaker set to be available in 2024.
The sustainability-focused brand introduced its new sneaker a few weeks after beating its second-quarter revenue expectations. Allbirds’ revenue declined 9.8% year over year to $70.5 million and net loss improved 1.5% year over year to $28.9 million.
The company also announced it entered into agreements to change operations in Canada and South Korea from a direct go-to-market model to a third-party distributor model as part of its overall transformation plan.
Meanwhile, footwear competitors Hoka and On have seen record growth. Deckers’ Hoka brand saw first-quarter net sales increase 27.4% to $420.5 million, with Deckers CEO Dave Powers saying in July that the company is focused on building Hoka into a multibillion-dollar brand. Earlier this month, On reported that its second-quarter net sales increased 52.3% year over year to 444.3 million Swiss francs (about $506.5 million at the time) and net income dropped 93.3% to 3.3 million Swiss francs.
