Allbirds Looks To Open 20 Brick-And-Mortar Locations

With a brick-and-mortar expansion in the works, direct-to-consumer shoe brand Allbirds plans to open 20 stores next year. The company began as a Silicon Valley eCommerce retailer, and has opened 14 stores so far, CNBC reported.

“We’ve got nearly 15 stores at the moment — 14 soon to be 15,” Tim Brown, the firm’s co-founder and co-CEO, said per the outlet. “We’ll add 20 stores next year. Many of them in the states — we’ve got some overseas in China and the U.K. and in New Zealand.”

In the last couple of years, the company started to open the doors to stores to let customers give their sneakers a try prior to buying them. At the same time, the stores have also aided in making more buzz surrounding the wool sneakers. The firm promotes them as an environmentally sustainable footwear approach.

“We’re hugely excited about the channel,” Brown said, according to the outlet. “It’s a great opportunity for people to touch our product, to try our product.”

Beyond Allbirds, online retailers such as Casper, Everlane and Warby Parker have started to “encroach on the real estate left behind as established retailers,” the outlet noted. The brands are also amassing followings via pop-up shops as well as social media.

As Allbirds plans to open stores, 7,062 retail stores have closed so far this year, and that number could reach as high as 12,000, which would be an all-time record. Coresight Research, which monitors store closings, said that last year there were only 5,524 store closings, which was down 30 percent from the previous record of 8,139 closings in 2017.

At the same time, sales have been continuously moving online. And brands like Allbirds, Warby Parker and Casper are becoming increasingly popular. Malls are also struggling and changing, as landlords realize that they need to diversify with things like more food, hotels and apartments to fill the retail spaces.