Footwear news and trends

Allbirds: Consumers Will Pay Full Price for ‘Fresh’ Enough Products
Earnings // May 09, 2024

Economic challenges have consumers pulling back on full-priced purchases, but Allbirds maintains that, if products are novel and relevant enough, shoppers will spring for non-discounted goods. On a call with analysts Wednesday (May 8) discussing the footwear and apparel company’s first-quarter 2024 financial results, CEO...

Brands Set Sights on D2C Resale Opportunity Amid Growing Demand
Retail // April 01, 2024

As ongoing economic pressures have consumers continuing to shop secondhand to save on retail spending, brands are looking to capture this growing opportunity through direct resale platforms. Resale operating system Archive announced last week via LinkedIn a partnership with footwear brand Dr. Martens on its new resale initiative, ReWair, through which the...

Allbirds Closing Stores as Retailers Feel the Burn of Shopper Cutbacks
Retail // March 12, 2024

Not long after touting its brick-and-mortar expansion, footwear brand Allbirds is becoming the latest merchant to shutter stores — a move that comes as consumers’ budgeting behavior amid financial challenges takes a hit on retailers. The brand, which began in direct-to-consumer (D2C) and expanded into...

Puma Sales Drop As Argentina’s Peso Takes Abrupt Dive 
Retail // January 25, 2024

Footwear brand Puma is cautioning that external challenges are expected to persist throughout 2024.  “For 2024, we foresee the geopolitical and macroeconomic challenges as well as highly volatile currencies to persist,” said Puma CEO Arne Freundt in a Wednesday (Jan. 24) statement.  “This continues to weigh...

Interviews & Exclusives
Sephora Keeps Kohl’s Registers Ringing as Other Categories Weaken

November 21, 2023
As temperatures stayed warm in September and October, Kohl’s discovered that it had a surplus of its cold weather inventory beyond what was initially expected. In response to the downturn in sales, the retailer is focusing on beauty and gifting categories as a reliable source of revenue. “While I don’t like blaming weather for performance, […]

Quick Reads
Birkenstock IPO Raises $1.4 Billion at Over $9 Billion Valuation

October 11, 2023
German shoe retailer Birkenstock has raised $1.4 billion in its initial public offering (IPO). The company set the price of its shares in the middle of the range it had initially sought, valuing Birkenstock at over $9 billion, The New York Times reported Wednesday (Oct. 11). Shares were priced at $46 each. The company had […]

German Footwear Brand Birkenstock Announces Plans for IPO in New York

September 13, 2023
Birkenstock has filed to go public through an initial public offering (IPO) in New York. The German footwear brand did not specify in its Tuesday (Sept. 12) F-1 filing with the U.S. Securities and...

Adidas to Sell Remaining Yeezy Sneakers, Donate Proceeds to Charity

May 11, 2023
Adidas has decided what to do with its millions of leftover Yeezy sneakers. The firm will sell the $1 billion worth of products and donate the proceeds to charity, The Wall Street Journal...

Mid-Priced Apparel Retailer Buckle Reports 10.1% Sales Drop in March

April 12, 2023
Mid-priced apparel, accessories and footwear retailer Buckle reported a drop in sales in March. The 439-store firm’s comparable store net sales for March were down 10.1% from the same period...