Allbirds’ Struggles Left It With Few Buyer Options

When Allbirds said connected Monday it would beryllium acquired by American Exchange Group for $39 million, the transaction with the marque absorption steadfast said a batch astir the footwear company’s utmost distress.

“Accounting for intraday declines, the company’s marketplace capitalization sits beneath its currency balance, portion shares commercialized astatine astir 0.1 times our 2026 income estimate, for which we person constricted visibility,” noted William Blair expert Dylan Carden.

More from WWD

• 2016's Top Coachella Shoe Trends Return for 2026, From Gladiator Sandals to Combat Boots and More

• Glenn Martens Pushes Boundaries astatine Margiela's Fall 2026 Show With 'Floating' Shoes and Edwardian Drama

• How Allbirds' Valuation Went From $4.1 Billion to $39 Million

The yearly study for Allbirds, filed Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, said the institution isn’t profitable and that it has “incurred important losses since inception” successful 2015. The filing besides noted “substantial doubt” astir the company’s quality to proceed arsenic a going concern. According to nationalist filings, nett losses astatine 1 constituent reached a precocious of $152.5 cardinal successful 2023, connected revenues of $254.1 million. In 2025, the nett losses totaled $77.3 million, but the nett revenues for the twelvemonth fell to $152.5 million.

Gil Harrison, an concern banker for 47 years — helium founded boutique concern steadfast Financo is present a advisor astatine Harrison Group —  said struggling brands often don’t person overmuch of an cognition left, leaving them with a large problem. Without immoderate quality to task forward-looking growth, there’s small to nary involvement from either the strategical oregon fiscal buyers.

That means if that if the marque had a decent pursuing arsenic was the lawsuit with Allbirds, the constricted excavation of buyers that mightiness task distant to footwear the tires conscionable for the intelligence spot (IP) assets are fundamentally a radical known arsenic marque absorption firms. Brand absorption firms person been progressive successful the footwear marketplace successful aboriginal 2026 aft mergers and acquisitions successful wide heated up successful the footwear abstraction past year.

In 2025, the manufacture saw Skechers engineer the biggest footwear buyout successful past with its $9 cardinal go-private woody with 3G Capital. And Dick’s Sporting Goods shook up the diversion scenery with its move to bargain rival Foot Locker for $2.4 billion. Both deals closed past year.

And among the brands, Caleres acquired Tapestry’s Stuart Weitzman marque for $105 cardinal past August. Last twelvemonth besides saw institution laminitis and bulk stakeholder Giuseppe Zanotti bargain backmost the 30 percent involvement successful his namesake marque from L Catterton. Golden Goose ended 2025 with a caller proprietor arsenic planetary task superior and backstage equity steadfast HSG acquired a bulk involvement successful the business, arsenic did Philippe Model Paris, which saw Italian manner radical Swinger International taking power of the sneaker brand.