Allbirds to Close Full-Price Stores in US and Devote Resources to eCommerce

Global lifestyle footwear brand Allbirds will close its remaining full-price stores in the United States by the end of February.

The company will devote its resources to its eCommerce platform, wholesale partnerships and international distributorships, it said in a Wednesday (Jan. 28) press release.

Allbirds will continue to operate two outlet stores in the U.S. and two full-price stores in London, according to the release.

“This is an important step for Allbirds, as we drive toward profitable growth under our turnaround strategy,” Allbirds CEO Joe Vernachio said in the release. “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 had 29 U.S. stores and two international ones in September 2025, down from 45 and 15, respectively, in September 2023, according to a November 2025 earnings release.

The company built a dedicated fanbase with shoes made from merino wool, which made the shoes both softer and more renewable than most sneaker materials on the market, PYMNTS reported in September 2017.

Allbirds was founded in 2015 and released its first product in 2016. After building its dedicated following via direct eCommerce sales to consumers, the company opened its first physical location in San Francisco on the ground floor of its headquarters and then began rolling out additional physical stores.

The company opened a 4,800-square-foot flagship store in New York City’s trendy SoHo neighborhood in 2018, and said in 2019 that it would have 15 brick-and-mortar stores by the end of that year and would add another 20 during the following year.

PYMNTS reported in 2019 that while Allbirds was far from the only direct-to-consumer digital brand to have added brick-and-mortar shops, its aggressive push into physical stores in the U.S. and abroad represented a commitment to changing from being a beloved niche shoe brand to a major player in a massive competitive global market.

By March 2024, Allbirds said it aimed to close between 10 and 15 retail stores in the U.S. during that year. PYMNTS reported at the time that the company had experienced a 14.5% drop in net revenue year over year during the most recent quarter.