The US shoe and apparel retailer Allbirds Inc. slipped deeper into the red in fiscal 2022. Although sales increased, they fell short of market expectations due to a disappointing final quarter. The company’s share price fell by more than 19 percent after the publication of the current figures on Thursday evening.
Last year, Allbirds had sales of $297.8 million (€281.0 million), an increase of 7.3 percent over 2021. However, the gross margin slipped from 52.9 to 43.5 percent. The company justified the decline with the streamlining of the clothing range, higher price reductions, increased logistics costs and negative currency effects.
In addition, because the selling expenses were significantly higher than in the previous year and restructuring expenses and value adjustments had to be booked, the operating loss rose from 32.9 to 100.3 million US dollars. The net loss was $101.4 million (€95.7 million), more than double the 2021 figure of $45.4 million.
Former Gymshark executive Annie Mitchell becomes CFO
Allbirds now wants to lay the foundations to boost growth in the coming years with a “strategic transformation plan”, which includes a new brand strategy and cost reductions. However, the outlook for the immediate future is rather sobering: For the first quarter of 2023, management expects sales to fall by 20 to 28 percent and an adjusted loss before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) in the range of US$ 26 to 29 million -Dollar.
The company also announced that it had filled a key position. Accordingly, Annie Mitchell will become the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) on April 24. She succeeds Mike Bufano, who will remain with Allbirds until mid-May to “ensure a smooth transition.” Mitchell joins from UK sportswear retailer Gymshark Ltd., where she was Vice President of Finance and Insights. Before that, she had spent ten years at the sporting goods group Adidas AG.