AllBirds IPO

Day trader looking at trading screens
Rebecca Cattlin
By :  ,  Former Senior Financial Writer

AllBirds IPO: When will AllBirds go public?

AllBirds filed for its IPO on August 31, in which it applied to list its Class A common stock on the Nasdaq under the ticker BIRD. More information will be released about the listing once it has regulatory approval. 

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How much is AllBirds worth?

AllBirds was valued at $1.7 billion in 2020, having raised $25 million in January. The company has previously raised more than $75 million in venture capital funding from investors including Fidelity, T. Rowe Price, Elephant Partners, Tiger Global Management, Expansion Venture Capital, Greenoaks Capital, and Lerer Hippeau.

How to trade AllBirds

Once it lists, you can trade AllBirds in the same way as any other share on the market. In the meantime, choose from thousands of other global stocks with City Index.

  1. Open a City Index account, or log in if you’re already a customer
  2. Search for the company you want to trade in our award-winning platform
  3. Choose your position and size, and your stop and limit levels
  4. Place the trade

Alternatively, if you’re not ready to trade live markets – but want to practise ahead of the AllBirds listing – you can set up a free demo account to trade in a no-risk environment. 

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What does AllBirds do?

AllBirds is a direct-to-consumer shoe brand that made its name selling wool trainers to sustainably-minded individuals. The company claims it footwear has approximately 30% less carbon footprint than a regular pair of trainers.

The company is based in San Francisco and was founded in 2015. AllBirds only has a slim retail offering, with a largely online presence, but has expanded into physical retail. It’s operational in 35 countries and boasts a reach of 2.5 billion consumers.

How does AllBirds make money?

AllBirds primarily makes money through digital sales, which comprise nearly 90% of its revenue. In 2020, thanks to the rise of online shopping and sustainable brands, as well as the trend toward comfort clothes amid the pandemic, Allbirds’ digital sales totalled $194.6 million in 2020.

Approximately 53% of the company’s sales in 2020 came from repeat customers. AllBirds’ SEC-1 filing states that the average lifetime spend of one of its US customers is $446.

Is AllBirds profitable?

AllBirds is not profitable, having lost money for the last two years. The company says it expects these losses to continue, despite bringing in $219 million in revenue for the year. Allbirds’ net loss totalled $14.5 million in 2019 and grew to $25.9 million in 2020.

According to its SEC-1 filing, AllBirds doesn’t ‘see tension between profit and purpose’ and instead believes the more sustainable the business is, the more consumers and investors will flock to it.

Learn how to read a company earnings report

What is AllBirds's business strategy?

AllBird’s business strategy is based on the increasing demand for products that are sustainably sourced and long-lasting. The company states its strategy has five core pillars:

  1. Make the world’s most comfortable shoes and apparel, powered by world-leading sustainable materials innovation and design
  2. Build a global brand that attracts a large, loyal community of customers who love its products
  3. Inspire that community of customers to keep coming back and to serve as the company’s biggest advocates
  4. Serve that community through a digitally-enabled and seamless cross-channel experience
  5. Deliver the highest-quality products on time at a great value to customers through a low-carbon, technology-enabled, consumer-focused supply chain

The brand gained in almost cult-like popularity thanks to its social media-based advertisements that target its primary audience of younger people – we see this strategy amongst other venture-capitalist-backed retail brands like Glossier. The direct-to-consumer business model enables the company to keep its supply chain carbon-neutral, as well as interact directly with its consumers. However, this model relies on the company maintaining good faith with consumers, making it more susceptible to negative press.

Instead of focusing on profitability, the company has begun expanding its business away from sneakers and into other forms of activewear and performance footwear. AllBirds states that it intentionally launched into footwear first in order to build credibility and trust with consumers and will now have an advantage in other apparel categories.

The company has also made the decision to focus on traditional brick-and-mortar stores – despite digital sales making up nearly 90% of revenue – saying that it has plans to increase its presence from 27 locations into the hundreds.

Covid-19 did also negatively impact the business, both in terms of supply chain and a reduced demand for discretionary items. The company also acknowledges that the competitive nature of the industry – and larger resources of its competitors – could result in a loss of market share and profitability.

It’s worth noting that AllBirds will have a strict environmental, social and governance policy, which includes gender diversity, sustainability, supply chain, emissions and corporate governance. While the company will have to appease shareholders, AllBirds has made it clear it considers employees, customers, the community and the environment in all its decisions too. It currently has an ESG score of 14.7 which puts it in the ‘low risk’ category. If you’re interested in ESG investing, find out more here.

Who owns AllBirds?

AllBirds is owned by co-founders Timothy Brown and Joseph Zwillinger, as well as venture capitalist investors such as Maverson, Tiger Global, T.Rowe Price, Fidelity, Lerer Hiippeau Ventures. All named directors also own shares in the business.

Board of directors of AllBirds

The executive officers and directors of AllBirds are as follows:

  • Joseph Zwillinger, Co-Chief Executive Officer and Director
  • Timothy Brown, Co-Chief Executive Officer and Director
  • Michael Bufano, Chief Financial Officer
  • Joe Vernachio, Chief Operating Officer
  • Neil Blumenthal, Director
  • Dick Boyce, Director
  • Mandy Fields, Director
  • Nancy Green, Director
  • Dan Levitan, Director
  • Emily Weiss, Director

The company boasts of its gender-diverse board, with 38% of the board identifying as women. This is above average according to an ISS Analytics 2019 study that showed an average of 27% of board seats were held by women.


Related tags: Stocks Equities IPO Insights

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