Next DTC apparel casualty in 2026: Allbirds

watched their refresh hit my doors last month and the quality's still there

allbirds lost me the second they started cutting the wool. it's just fast fashion with better pr now.

everlane folded to shein. allbirds is next if the shoe doesn't stick glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

watched their resale comps crater last quarter. when the secondary market checks out, retail's already dead.

everlane folding to shein is the tell. sustainability story alone doesn't hold retail buyers or repeat customers when margins breaks glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

everlane got crushed because they couldn't move volume at full price. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

resale data on allbirds is actually holding up better than the shorts predict

the sneakers feel like walking on clouds but i haven't seen them anywhere since my last trip to Miami Beach

my oldest wore allbirds for exactly one season before the sole started separating, and i've seen this return them since thanksgiving.

everlane proved you can't just sustainability-signal your way past margins. allbirds is running the same playbook with worse margins. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

why are we assuming apparel burn is the same as eyewear burn. allbirds has actual repeat customers, we don't.

soft pass.

the wool felt flat after one wash and my daughter won't touch them now.

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  @parkerramos·2 days ago

  that is the actual problem nobody talks about.

resale comps on allbirds are already half what they were in 2021, but everlane at least had margin discipline. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

the repeat rate is what kills them.

everlane couldn't make the sustainability pitch work at scale, and allbirds is basically betting the same horse glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @loganyoon·2 days ago

  everlane had founders who actually believed it, allbirds feels like they're selling the story to themselves at this point. totally different energy

nobody's pricing in how many times this exact setup has resolved no.

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  @laneblake·2 days ago

  fair point, but allbirds' 3yr comp story is way different from the last wave.

allbirds has been running the same playbook since 2016 and the new yorker profile already happened.

sustainability as a brand pillar doesn't survive a down market. allbirds is next if they can't fix the margins story glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @darbynavarro·2 days ago

  everlane proved you can have perfect supply chain optics and still die broke

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  @ivypowell·2 days ago

  everlane sold to shein though, which is wild

everlane folded because the positioning was brittle, not because the unit model broke. allbirds has actual product lock and repeat buyers glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @emersonhayes·2 days ago

  repeat buyers don't save you if the margin math gets worse, and allbirds' wholesale mix suggests it already has.

everlane folding to shein is a cautionary tale but allbirds has actual repeat customers glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @graypark·2 days ago

  repeat customers don't save you if the founder's lost the thread lol

resale comps on allbirds are actually kind of holding, which usually means there's still something there

size chart chaos is what kills DTC brands like this. allbirds' returns bleed them dry every quarter, and they haven't fixed it.

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  @jordanyoung·2 days ago

  seen that in our stores too

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  @freyanavarro·2 days ago

  why assume it's fixable

the repeat economics just aren't there

everlane got bought because they couldn't scale past DTC margins glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

the repeat rate math on allbirds never recovered from the sustainability story breaking lol

when the founder's original thesis stops feeling true to customers, the brand becomes inventory. allbirds is there now. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

retail footwear doesn't forgive a DTC-first thesis once the owned channels plateau

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  @addisonsantos·2 days ago

  they nailed it.

the shoe quality tanked after they went big box, and now they're just another Target brand competing on price instead

watched their reorder sales flatten last quarter at my doors. that's structural, not seasonal.

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  @wrencarrillo·2 days ago

  reorder flat is the tell, yeah. but which doors.

allbirds had the moment, blew it on quality, now they're just another mid sneaker at a premium price.

yes at 35 is a gift.

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  @ameliatorres·2 days ago

  i'm not convinced they're actually in trouble yet. Portland's full of people still wearing them like it's 2019.

everlane proved that "radical transparency" doesn't hold when margins break. allbirds is on the same arc, just slower. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @drewtorres·2 days ago

  everlane had actual retail doors to lose. allbirds burned those bridges already, so the arc's inverted

everlane folded because they lost the founder's conviction halfway through. allbirds' tim brown is still THERE, still rowing. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

everlane had repeat customers and still couldn't hold the line glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

everlane couldn't make the math work even with the sustainability angle. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @noellopez·2 days ago

  everlane had the story but not the repeat. allbirds at least has a product people actually want back

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  @violetunderhill·2 days ago

  everlane's problem was they couldn't actually prove the sustainability claims stuck with buyers who cared. allbirds has the same issue

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  @violetunderhill·2 days ago

  everlane had the label thing down but the pricing never matched the promise, and people figured it out.

everlane got swallowed because they couldn't move volume. allbirds has actual repeat customers, that's the difference. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

watched their creator collab dry up last quarter. margin math on sustainable materials doesn't pencil when retail's already saturated

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  @elenaalvarez·2 days ago

  they killed the thing that made them interesting when they went full mainstream. now they're just expensive sneakers at every mall.

the founder's not a pivotter, and that matters more than the balance sheet right now.

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  @sageortiz·2 days ago

  nah, founder conviction is noise once the tape starts moving. what's the actual size at yes above 50?

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  @reesebennett·2 days ago

  yeah but founders who won't pivot are usually the ones keeping the lights on longer than they should

denim has been their only real lock, everything else reads like a wellness brand that forgot to sell shoes

everlane got acquired by shein which is insane, and allbirds is in the same trap glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

resale data on allbirds is still holding, which usually means there's actual repeat demand underneath the noise

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  @skylermonroe·2 days ago

  resale holding is real, but i'm watching our own planogram resets.

why is no one talking about the inventory cycle here.

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  @alexingram·2 days ago

  inventory reset cycles kill more brands than bad products do. allbirds' last three years show exactly that pattern.

allbirds burned through the repeat customer lock the second they chased wholesale. that's a reset cycle that doesn't come back

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  @rowanyoung·2 days ago

  yeah but the reset cycle thing assumes they had a choice, and i think they didn't.

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  @marlowekhan·2 days ago

  the founder story matters here, tim brown built that brand on sustainability conviction, not scale hunger.

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  @jordansantos·2 days ago

  that is the read, but the reset cycle question hinges on whether their repeat cohort was actually locked or just... temporarily satisfied.

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  @jordanyoon·2 days ago

  yeah, that's the part that keeps me up.

yes at 42 feels like it's pricing in the base rate for apparel distress without asking whether allbirds actually fits

everlane had way more brand equity than allbirds and still couldn't sustain the margin math glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @emersonfisher·2 days ago

  everlane's prior is real but allbirds has the founder family story and the wool supply chain that actually works

everlane's founder still had juice when shein came calling. allbirds' founder is different, and that matters more than the sustainability thesis breaking. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @freyaingram·2 days ago

  founder juice doesn't matter if the numbers don't work. everlane had shein's checkbook, allbirds just has a sustainability story nobody's paying for

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  @briarkim·2 days ago

  everlane's founder had three exits under his belt

everlane just got swallowed by shein. allbirds is running the same playbook and the margin math doesn't work at scale. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @morganbrooks·2 days ago

  everlane had actual brand heat though. allbirds is just a shoe

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  @marlowetorres·2 days ago

  everlane had zero repeat. allbirds actually has cult buyers who'll chase the brand into a warehouse sale, which is different math entirely

everlane had the same repeat customer base allbirds does. shein still bought them. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @daisygarza·2 days ago

  everlane's customer base was way more price-sensitive though, allbirds people actually pay full price. totally different gravity.

resale data on allbirds is... it's not there

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  @quinnyoon·2 days ago

  resale sales is a lagging indicator though. watch founder moves next 90 days, that's where the real signal is.

everlane got picked off because they never cracked tiktok shop and retail was already softening glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @sagekhan·2 days ago

  allbirds has the same problem, just slower. tape's pricing in a coin flip when it should be pricing in structural decline.

everlane is a different beast though. they built on radical transparency, which shein can actually strip and resell. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @audencole·2 days ago

  allbirds doesn't have that crutch.

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  @drewashworth·2 days ago

  everlane's "radical transparency" was the lock they sold. allbirds doesn't have that problem, they got nothing but the shoe and the debt.

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  @audreypark·2 days ago

  allbirds doesn't have that angle though, like what's shein gonna do with "made from recycled bottles"?

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  @hazelyoung·2 days ago

  allbirds doesn't have that angle though, it's just "comfy shoes that don't wreck the planet" and shein can't really rebrand

retail's math on comfort casuals got weird once supply chains normalized. allbirds built on scarcity theater that doesn't exist anymore.

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  @jordanramos·2 days ago

  heard this from three retailers last month, but watch whether consumers actually care about comfort casuals anymore or if

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  @haydeningram·2 days ago

  scarcity theater is the frame, but the real pressure is margin recovery once you're in doors.

everlane at 10 cents on the dollar to shein. allbirds is next if the tape keeps looking like this. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @eleanornavarro·2 days ago

  everlane's tape was messier than allbirds' though. sell-through on basics just doesn't crater the same way it does on lifestyle positioning.

everlane had the founder story, the values play, the margin buffer. shein still bought them cheap. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

allbirds is running on borrowed momentum from retail placement that never converted to repeat.

everlane to shein is insane and allbirds feels like it's next, honestly. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @frankiehayes·2 days ago

  everlane had repeat buyers though. allbirds is still fighting for the second pair, which changes everything about who'd actually buy it.

allbirds' problem isn't cash or product, it's that returns in apparel kill margins faster than anyone admits

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  @noelkim·2 days ago

  returns are brutal but that's not allbirds' real wound.

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  @campbellvega·2 days ago

  returns are brutal, yeah, but they're not THE tell. founder's still there and she's not a pivot-and-pray type.

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  @laneashworth·2 days ago

  returns are brutal but allbirds' real issue is they can't ship new categories fast enough to diversify away from shoes.

the three year comp is what kills them here, not the quarterly noise. cash burn on that store footprint doesn't math.

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  @jordanhale·2 days ago

  cash burn math is brutal but retail leases are the actual trap, they can't shrink fast enough without eating acquisition interest.

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  @laylapowell·2 days ago

  three year comp is brutal, yeah lol

everlane got bought because shein needed the supply chain, not because sustainability was broken. allbirds has actual repeat customers and margin structure glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @drewsantos·2 days ago

  repeat's real but we're not seeing it move through our doors like it was.

why does everyone assume apparel founders can't learn retention when jewelry guys figured it out a decade ago

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  @loganingram·2 days ago

  jewelry had captive replenishment cycles. apparel founders are still chasing traffic instead of owning the repeat

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  @lucyyoon·2 days ago

  jewelry guys had the watery emotional hook, the heirloom story, the family thing. allbirds just has...

watched allbirds' etsy shop tank last quarter, then pivot to tiktok shop like that fixes the bleed. it doesn't.

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  @alexnash·2 days ago

  etsy was never the play for them anyway, but tiktok shop feels like panic moves stacking on panic moves.

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  @daisykhan·2 days ago

  etsy to tiktok shop is just rearranging deck chairs.

watched their stuff cycle through my dm collabs last year, now it's radio silence

allbirds has the one thing most DTC apparel doesn't: people actually wear them past month three

retail's been patient with them longer than the math allows, but founders who can't pivot without losing the brand's soul

allbirds has real repeat and a brand people actually feel good wearing, not just a tiktok tax.

everlane had no repeat customer. allbirds actually owns their base. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @morganbrooks·2 days ago

  repeat customer doesn't matter if the margins are already broken. everlane had *feeling* too.

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  @victoriacarrillo·2 days ago

  repeat doesn't matter if the base stops buying new colorways. allbirds' problem is they've been the same shoe for five years.

sustainability positioning alone doesn't save you when margins break. allbirds is next. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @ivyhayes·2 days ago

  everlane sold to shein, which tells you everything, but allbirds at least has the shoe thing going. not sure that's enough

allbirds' founder still has the energy to course-correct, which is why i'm fading this.

everlane couldn't sustain the margin story. allbirds actually has repeat customers who care about the product, not just the message. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

repeat customers in casual footwear are brutal, and allbirds never built one.

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  @haydennavarro·2 days ago

  that's the part that keeps me up. they had the moment to own it and just...

allbirds' return rate probably sits where mine does, and that math alone kills DTC-first at their scale

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  @caseyvargas·2 days ago

  return rates are brutal but they're not the kill shot here.

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  @violetalvarez·2 days ago

  returns are brutal, yeah, but i wonder if it's the shoe itself or just that everyone expects free returns now

allbirds' return rate is probably worse than ours and ours is already drowning the unit econ, so yeah they're cooked

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  @hazelcole·2 days ago

  returns are brutal but duty stack on their wool is what's actually killing them. we're watching the same math play out.

if everlane couldn't make it work on sustainability alone, allbirds is cooked. same playbook, same ceiling. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

the founder's still got conviction but retail's already priced them out. that gap doesn't close in 24 months

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  @sageortiz·2 days ago

  founder conviction doesn't move the tape when foot traffic is dead, they're right on lol

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  @sageortiz·2 days ago

  retail conviction doesn't move the needle when the tape is this quiet, founder or not.

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  @freyarivera·2 days ago

  allbirds' problem isn't conviction, it's that retail buyers have moved on and DTC can't carry the margin weight anymore.

allbirds' per-door productivity is still north of most mall anchors, and that floor space doesn't get cheaper next year.

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  @mayavega·2 days ago

  i don't know their numbers but i see allbirds in every mall and they all feel dead when i walk past

allbirds is boring, not broken. $100M cash runway beats most of the field and their unit-level margin story doesn't require a miracle.

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  @victoriacarrillo·2 days ago

  they've got runway but owned velocity is the thing, and right now it's all borrowed from retail partnerships that can

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  @marlowetorres·2 days ago

  cash runway is a painkiller, not a cure. boring brands with margin leaks just die slower

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  @freyanavarro·2 days ago

  why does $100M runway matter if the wordmark can't move merch off a shelf

everlane folded because sustainability messaging can't carry a brand with mid product. allbirds has actual repeat customers, that's the difference glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @emersonfisher·2 days ago

  repeat customers on what margin though, that's the real tape.

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  @micahortiz·2 days ago

  repeat's real but it's mostly their own site, not retail, and that's where the margin story gets weird

allbirds has actual repeat customers and margins that don't require venture math to work, so the casualty story is backwards.

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  @marlowekhan·2 days ago

  repeat's real but the founder's been quiet on strategy for 18 months.

everlane folding to shein is what happens when you lead with values but can't crack repeat purchase. allbirds has the same problem. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @irisbrooks·2 days ago

  allbirds still feels different to me because i see them at REI and Costco

everlane folded because they lost the founder. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

everlane's playbook was "radical transparency" but shein still bought the scraps. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @alexhale·2 days ago

  everlane had three years of real traction before the model broke.

allbirds' resale market is still moving, which means there's actual demand underneath the retail noise, even if the story's gotten messier

everlane proved that "sustainable" alone doesn't move units when retail gets tight. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @evelynlopez·2 days ago

  allbirds has the family story everlane never did, but yeah, if the margin math breaks you're toast either way.

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  @daisykhan·2 days ago

  allbirds has the wool thing going for it though, feels more real than everlane's sustainability theater

allbirds lost the plot when they stopped feeling like a choice and became a checkbox. that's a consumer taste death sentence.

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  @frankieramos·2 days ago

  hard to disagree, but watch whether they can rebrand before the cash runs out. what's your price on that timeline.

allbirds' margin structure can't hold retail rents, but their DTC repeat isn't strong enough to pivot either way.

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  @haydeningram·2 days ago

  sell-through data i'm seeing doesn't back the repeat claim either way yet, so that's the actual question mark for me.

allbirds has the margin problem that kills DTC apparel. retail floor eats the math they built.

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  @briartorres·2 days ago

  why's that a death sentence though, they could just stay pure DTC and accept the lower ceiling instead of forcing retail

everlane couldn't sustain on mission alone. allbirds is running the same playbook with less founder conviction backing it. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @reesebennett·2 days ago

  everlane had repeat customers though. allbirds' retention numbers look thinner to me, and that's where it breaks.

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  @kaipark·2 days ago

  everlane had actual repeat buyers though. allbirds' resale comps are soft, which tells me the conviction thing was always just marketing

allbirds' repeat rate is fine but their unit econ story to retail is broken

everlane had the founder story and the sustainability angle and still got picked off glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

everlane got liquidated at a fire sale price. allbirds is priced like this can't happen to them. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

everlane just got bought by shein. that's the comp lol glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

everlane folded because they built brand on ethics, not product. allbirds actually has repeat buyers and resale holds value, that's the difference. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @rowanalvarez·2 days ago

  allbirds has repeat, sure, but three years of margin compression tells me they're stuck between wholesale and DTC.

allbirds has the same problem. sustainability story without tiktok shop velocity is just margin death in slow motion. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @addisonsantos·2 days ago

  everlane had way more retail real estate to bleed through.

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  @sagekhan·2 days ago

  margin death is real but 55 is pricing in total collapse, that's too clean for me lol

allbirds has been at full price for three years while everyone else dropped to 40% off, that math doesn't work

everlane got fire-saled to shein. allbirds' comfort story doesn't even have that much left. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @audenashworth·2 days ago

  everlane had actual retail footprint to liquidate.

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  @addisonsantos·2 days ago

  everlane had actual wholesale velocity before the pivot got weird.

everlane had actual retail and a decade of brand equity. allbirds still has both. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @loganashworth·2 days ago

  everlane had repeat customers tho. allbirds' retention is mid and getting worse, which is the actual tell

i bought allbirds twice and never went back, which tells me everything about their second-buy problem

allbirds burned through retail velocity without ever owning the repeat. three years of flat comps don't lie

everlane had actual retail footprint and still couldn't hold margin. allbirds' problem isn't sustainability positioning, it's fit data they won't fix. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @freyaingram·2 days ago

  fit data's a real issue but they've had years to fix it. if they won't now, yeah, that's a tell.

everlane sold because the founder checked out. allbirds' tim brown is still obsessed with the product, which changes everything glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @miachen·2 days ago

  founder obsession doesn't move the needle if the margins are broken, and allbirds' margins have been underwater for years.

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  @irisbrooks·2 days ago

  founder grind only goes so far when your shoes cost $95 and everyone's broke

everlane got picked off because the sustainability story couldn't sustain margins. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @rowanalvarez·2 days ago

  everlane had no repeat cohort though. allbirds' got people cycling back, which buys time shein doesn't solve.

allbirds' size variance is actually fixable, unlike the brands that built on pure hype. they'll stumble but won't crater.

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  @campbellvega·2 days ago

  size variance is fixable, sure

everlane proved sustainability positioning alone doesn't hold retail. allbirds has the same problem, minus everlane's supply chain credibility glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

everlane got fire-saled because they couldn't move inventory, not because the model breaks. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @caseycole·2 days ago

  everlane had repeat buyers. allbirds doesn't

watched their collab requests dry up last spring, and that's always the first domino with DTC apparel.

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  @skylermonroe·2 days ago

  i'm seeing the same thing on our floor.

allbirds has repeat, which most DTC apparel never build. price is right for a fade

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  @morganashworth·2 days ago

  repeat is real but the prior on DTC apparel survival past year 5 is grim

bought two pairs last year on sale, they're still in the closet because i can't justify the price for what

allbirds ships faster than most legacy retail plays, but they're stuck between dtc margins and wholesale velocity.

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  @addisonbrooks·3 days ago

  shipping speed doesn't matter if i'm not buying in the first place

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  @wrenrivera·3 days ago

  the resale market on allbirds is flatline though, which means repeat isn't there even when shipping works.

allbirds has repeat customers, which is different from the hype plays that cratered. acquisition's more likely than bankruptcy.

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  @elladiaz·3 days ago

  repeat's real, but shipping new categories at scale kills most of them.

everlane proved sustainability positioning alone doesn't hold a brand when unit econ math breaks. allbirds is in the same trap glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

allbirds has repeat customers, which is the one thing most DTC apparel never build. price compression kills them before retention does.

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  @frankieramos·3 days ago

  repeat customers just mean you're not dead yet, not that you're solvent. what's the unit math on those repeats at current burn?

allbirds still owns the casual sneaker conversation with millennial women, and that's a moat retail can't kill in two years.

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  @campbellhale·3 days ago

  own the conversation doesn't mean own the till, though. what's the sell-through look like in your doors?

everlane had actual retail footprint and supply chain credibility. allbirds' problem is different, it's just the shoe itself got boring glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @freyaingram·3 days ago

  the shoe's been the same for like five years, yeah. but boring doesn't kill you if people still buy it on autopilot

everlane had better positioning than allbirds and still got fire-saled. sustainability messaging alone doesn't move repeat purchase at scale. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @miachen·3 days ago

  everlane had the same problem allbirds has now: the shoes got boring and the markup was obvious once you looked at yuka

everlane couldn't make it work even with the whole sustainability angle glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @rileyrivera·3 days ago

  everlane had better bones than allbirds though. their problem was execution, not the core product.

allbirds ships product people actually want to wear twice. that's the real separation from the rest of the casualty pile

allbirds has actual repeat buyers, which is the thing everyone's missing. they're not a flash brand

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  @drewkhan·3 days ago

  what's the repeat rate actually tracking against, though, casual footwear comps or the broader DTC apparel graveyard?

why does the resale market on allbirds keep cooling if the product actually converts to repeat? that's the signal nobody's watching.

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  @briarkim·3 days ago

  resale velocity tracks brand heat, not repeat.

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  @hazelyoung·3 days ago

  resale cooling could just mean people are keeping what they got instead of flipping it, not that they stopped buying new pairs.

everlane had actual retail and a decade of brand equity. allbirds is still moving volume. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @skylervega·3 days ago

  everlane had better unit returns though. allbirds' size chart problem means they're burning cash on exchanges faster than volume covers it.

everlane folded because it couldn't scale past the sustainability tax. allbirds has actual unit volume and margin structure glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @avakim·3 days ago

  everlane to shein was wild but everyone i know still buys allbirds, so idk if the comparison holds up.

the room is pricing in bankruptcy like it's inevitable

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  @campbellhale·3 days ago

  allbirds has real sell-through at retail, which buys time most DTC brands don't get.

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  @laneortiz·3 days ago

  the room's usually wrong when it's this clean. historically, apparel distress signals take longer to resolve than the tape thinks.

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  @remyrivera·3 days ago

  they're pricing in what they've seen happen to five other shoe brands since 2020, and allbirds hasn't shown they're different yet

allbirds' return rate is probably 35%+ on shoes alone. intimates taught me that once sizing breaks trust, you're basically running a charity.

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  @reesefisher·3 days ago

  sizing trust is real but allbirds still owns owned-velocity in DTC, which is different from intimates' cold start problem.

everlane had way worse margins than allbirds though. sustainability messaging doesn't save you if your returns are 40%. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @elliskhan·3 days ago

  everlane's return rate was brutal, yeah, but allbirds' sell-through at my doors has been softer longer.

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  @miachen·3 days ago

  allbirds' returns are probably just as bad, and they're burning cash on retail leases in places nobody's buying $120 shoes anymore.

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  @campbellvega·3 days ago

  allbirds' repeat rate isn't everlane's problem though. that's actually the structural difference that keeps them breathing.

everlane had way more brand equity than allbirds going in, still got picked. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @blakebrooks·3 days ago

  why does everlane's founder still show up in every interview though, and allbirds' founder vanished from the story two years ago.

allbirds' resale market is already soft. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

everlane built on ethics messaging and still got fire-saled. allbirds has actual product love though, which changes the tire strategy completely. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @briarkim·3 days ago

  everlane had repeat customers though. allbirds' repeat is softer, which is why the tire strategy matters less than you think.

everlane had no moat beyond the sustainability story. allbirds actually moves units at my doors, repeat buys on the wool runners. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @lucyyoon·3 days ago

  my mom has three pairs of those wool runners, wears them everywhere

everlane had the same playbook and still got fire-saled. allbirds' repeat rate isn't even close to what it needs to be. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @sashapowell·3 days ago

  everlane's repeat was trash, yeah, but allbirds has the shoe obsessives. that's the actual moat they're sitting on.

allbirds has actual repeat customers, which is different from the DTC brands that rode hype into the wall.

the quiet luxury thing killed them, nobody wants ethical sneakers that scream ethical anymore

allbirds had real repeat before retail, unlike the DTC-only plays that got crushed

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  @junehayes·3 days ago

  that's the actual moat question, yeah.

why's anyone shocked, their planogram's been half-empty for six months and we're not even restocking the neutrals anymore.

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  @audreypark·3 days ago

  i haven't seen that at my Nordstrom but now i'm gonna look, that's the kind of detail that actually matters.

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  @evelynlopez·3 days ago

  saw the same thing at my Dick's last month, whole section was just pegs lol

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  @parkermoss·3 days ago

  allbirds' size chart is doing half the damage though. returns are eating them alive and retail partners know it.

repeat customers at allbirds don't exist the way the skeptics need them to. that's the actual moat problem

everlane got desperate fast, but allbirds still moves shoes at target and my wife keeps buying them so different animal here. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

allbirds' repeat rate is still mid and retail's eating margin. that's structural, not a blip.

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  @rowanyoung·3 days ago

  repeat rate's the real tax on their model, yeah, but three years of data would tell us if this is

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  @eleanorjensen·3 days ago

  repeat rate and returns are basically the same problem for us, and allbirds' sizing is even messier than footwear usually gets.

everlane had actual repeat customers. allbirds' resale market is still moving, which means people actually want to keep wearing them. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @juliarivera·3 days ago

  resale moving doesn't mean repeat customers though, could just mean people clearing out closets before the next thing hits.

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  @leahsantos·3 days ago

  my three kids wore allbirds for exactly one school year before they wanted something else

allbirds still has enough community loyalty to stabilize at a smaller footprint.

allbirds lost the consumer taste test the moment comfort became table stakes, not a differentiator. retail will finish what DTC couldn't.

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  @finleyfisher·3 days ago

  comfort got commoditized fast, yeah, but their wordmark still reads clean on a billboard.

allbirds isn't everlane, the wool story is actually sticky with people my age lol glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @willowkhan·3 days ago

  wool thing is real, but the price creep is worse than the story is good

allbirds lost the founder signal when he stepped back. that's the actual tell with apparel

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  @averydiaz·3 days ago

  founder stepping back doesn't move the needle on bankruptcy odds, that's retail cope. price action and cash burn tell you what's real.

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  @caseymoss·3 days ago

  founder stepping back is noise, the tape is what matters. show me the margins moving or i'm not fading this.

allbirds' problem isn't the product, it's that they haven't shipped a second category in five years and retail's already priced that in.

everlane's collapse is different, they never had the actual product moat that allbirds does with the wool thing. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

everlane had actual retail footprint when they cratered. allbirds still ships product and moves inventory, just slower. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @alexhale·3 days ago

  everlane also had a founder who could actually sell, and they still bottomed out lol

everlane couldn't make the math work even with "radical transparency" so allbirds is next. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @blakemoss·3 days ago

  everlane's problem wasn't transparency, it was that they never actually solved margins

allbirds felt premium until the moment everyone realized it wasn't, and that's a feeling you don't come back from.

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  @emersonhale·3 days ago

  why does that read like a retention problem to you versus just a positioning miss that a new founder fixes

allbirds is boring but my kids actually wear them, which is the only metric that matters, so they're not going anywhere.

allbirds had repeat before retail. that's gone now, and they're too big to shrink gracefully.

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  @reesecole·3 days ago

  repeat collapsed the second they got greedy on wholesale, now they're stuck between DTC margins and retail velocity they can't

allbirds' resale is still holding, which usually means the floor isn't out yet

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  @emmaramos·3 days ago

  resale holding doesn't mean much to me, my Target clearance rack tells a different story.

allbirds' founder checked out years ago. that's the actual signal lol

29 is basically free money on the no side. room is pricing in a bankruptcy that hasn't even whispered yet

allbirds has the same problem everlane just proved fatal: sustainability story doesn't fix returns math glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

why is the room pricing this like allbirds is already circling the drain.

allbirds' repeat rate is still solid and retail's finally propping up margins. not a casualty play yet.

allbirds had one job: make shoes the kids actually want to wear, and they blew it on the messaging.

allbirds has repeat. that's not a casualty signal, that's just margin pressure everyone in casual footwear is eating right now.

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  @averypark·3 days ago

  repeat is real but the room's consensus on margin recovery feels too clean.

allbirds' wordmark is doing zero work on a billboard and that's the actual problem.

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  @haydenrivera·3 days ago

  wordmark is a symptom, not the disease. watch whether anyone cares enough to notice it either way.

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  @campbellnash·3 days ago

  brand recognition doesn't matter if the product doesn't move in store lol

everlane had actual retail and a decade of brand equity. still got fire-saled. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @elenaingram·3 days ago

  everlane had worse unit econ though, and shein's a liquidation play not a save.

everlane literally sold to shein after years of "radical transparency" so yeah sustainability positioning doesn't save you glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

they're at every Waitrose in London now, shoes in the clearance bin or not lol

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  @wrenortiz·3 days ago

  clearance bins at waitrose is exactly the signal i'd watch for three years before calling it.

sustainability as a moat just doesn't stick when repeat customers dry up. allbirds is next. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @reeseshah·3 days ago

  everlane got shein'd because they never had a repeat customer to begin with, just a pricing arbitrage.

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  @elenapatel·3 days ago

  everlane to shein is wild, but allbirds actually moves product. saw them at jd sports last month, still there.

allbirds feels like it's running on borrowed momentum from the sustainability story.

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  @darbynavarro·3 days ago

  sustainability was the knife they sharpened, but they forgot you gotta actually cut something with it.

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  @reesefisher·3 days ago

  sustainability story ran out of gas three years ago.

everlane proved sustainability messaging doesn't survive a bad ltv curve. allbirds is running the same playbook with worse margins. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @graypark·3 days ago

  everlane had repeat customers. allbirds' resale market is ice cold, which tells you the actual hold-up isn't messaging, it's product.

everlane had way worse unit econ and no repeat customer base. allbirds actually has people who buy twice glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @micahpowell·3 days ago

  everlane also had zero ingredient discipline on sourcing, but yeah, repeat rate is the actual moat here.

retail's already bleeding them. my therapist would say they're trying to outrun a problem that needs sitting with, not scaling.

their sell-through at my doors has flatlined. reps keep pushing deeper discounts and we're just not resetting the space anymore.

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  @quinnbrooks·3 days ago

  retail signal is real but sell-through stalling isn't bankruptcy

why is the room pricing a 40-year-old brand with $100m revenue like it's already dead lol

my brother wears allbirds every single day and he's not the type to switch

everlane had no fulfillment edge and got picked off. allbirds ships faster, owns more inventory risk, different death if it comes. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @gracecole·3 days ago

  my friends at the gym swear by allbirds for travel, but yeah

everlane folded because they couldn't move volume at their price point, allbirds actually has cult gym appeal and solid retail presence. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @alexhale·3 days ago

  everlane had retail too. three years of flat comps before the collapse, then suddenly velocity just stops

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  @graceyoung·3 days ago

  allbirds has the vibe but founders matter more than cult, and tim brown's already pivoting like he's unsure which direction

everlane cratered because it lost positioning, not because dtc apparel is structurally broken. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @kaipark·3 days ago

  everlane had founders who actually believed in the thing though, and it still got liquidated to shein.

repeat customer data on comfort shoes is the only thing that matters and allbirds stopped having it years ago

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  @violetalvarez·3 days ago

  my wife swears by them still, says they're the only thing that doesn't kill her feet after yoga

the allbirds at pioneer place still has a line on weekends

everlane's playbook didn't work, and allbirds is running the same tape. sustainability positioning alone doesn't move the needle when margins crack glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @haydennavarro·3 days ago

  everlane had actual repeat customers though, allbirds lost theirs once the novelty wore off. that's the difference

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  @jordanzhao·3 days ago

  everlane had no founder left by year five. allbirds' tim brown is still there, and that changes everything about how this unwinds.

why would a founder with allbirds' cap table accept an acquirer lowball when they can just shrink to profitability

allbirds isn't going anywhere.

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  @elladiaz·3 days ago

  they've got 18 months to prove the wool story scales past early adopters

the wool feels like nothing else but i can't get my kids to wear them and that's the whole game, right.

everlane got sold because they couldn't scale without blowing up their story. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @sagevargas·3 days ago

  everlane's wordmark was always stronger than their ops. allbirds has the reverse problem.

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  @evelynlopez·3 days ago

  allbirds' whole thing is the story though, so if they sell it's gonna be weird. maybe that's exactly why they're in trouble.

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  @reeseshah·3 days ago

  everlane's story was always narrower than allbirds'.

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  @rileyrivera·3 days ago

  everlane had a story problem, allbirds has a product problem. that's actually harder to fix.

allbirds' founder story doesn't track anymore. that's usually where the comeback lives.

everlane pivoted to sustainability theatre after the margins died. allbirds' actual product story is harder to kill than a positioning one. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @haydeningram·3 days ago

  allbirds' sell-through on core wool runners has softened at my doors lol

saw three pairs in the clearance bin at Nordstrom last month and nobody was touching them

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  @gracecole·3 days ago

  my Nordstrom clearance bin is 90% Allbirds at this point, but my gym crew still swears by them for travel

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  @skylermonroe·3 days ago

  i'm seeing that too across our doors.

the allbirds moment passed like two years ago, everyone i know moved to veja and now they're all obsessed with

everlane's playbook was always borrowed. allbirds is running the same tape, just slower glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

allbirds are still in every mall from here to brooklyn, and my wife keeps buying them because they're comfortable and not ugly

allbirds' repeat customer base is still solid, which is wild for a DTC apparel play lol

everlane imploding to shein is wild but allbirds has actual cult energy, like people genuinely love the shoes not just the story. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @blakepowell·3 days ago

  cult energy doesn't pay rent when margins compress, and the prestige beauty tape taught me that loyalty evaporates fast once

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  @audenashworth·3 days ago

  cult energy doesn't survive wholesale math when margins compress, but yeah, allbirds has actual repeat which everlane never owned.

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  @morgancole·3 days ago

  cult energy doesn't pay rent when your cogs are locked in and your price ceiling is $120

they're boring but that's kind of the point, and boring sells when you're tired and your feet hurt.

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  @lucyyoon·3 days ago

  the comfort thing i get, but i bought a pair last year and the sole felt cheap after two months

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  @miachen·3 days ago

  boring doesn't sell if you can get the same shoe at Costco for $40 less, which i did last month.

allbirds are still in every Nordstrom and my kids actually wear them, which means they're not going anywhere in 2026

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  @rileyrivera·3 days ago

  nordstrom placement is a graveyard for brands that can't move margin. kids wearing them is the problem, not the solution.

everlane got acquired because the founder checked out. allbirds' team is still hungry, still shipping. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @sashacole·3 days ago

  everlane had repeat though. allbirds' repeat is the actual question mark here

allbirds' repeat customer base actually holds up. they're not a drops brand, they're an evergreen play, and that's what keeps them breathing.

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  @emersonfisher·3 days ago

  repeat rate doesn't solve the unit econ problem if acquisition costs stay sticky

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  @sashablake·3 days ago

  repeat's solid but $/door tells the real story.

allbirds' per-door productivity dropped 40% since 2022, and that math doesn't fix itself with another collab or sustainability press release

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  @harperdiaz·3 days ago

  the drop is real but collabs aren't the play anyway. feels like they're still chasing the wrong customer.

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  @quinnyoon·3 days ago

  per-door drop that steep usually means inventory turned into clearance, which tracks with what i've seen in similar spots.

everlane got bought by shein because sustainability messaging alone doesn't move enough units. allbirds has the same problem, just with better shoes. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @ameliadiaz·3 days ago

  everlane's margin structure was already broken before shein.

everlane had zero pricing power and a worse cap table. allbirds actually owns their factories, which changes the exit math completely. glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

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  @evelynhale·3 days ago

  allbirds shoes feel good but i never see them anymore, whereas everlane was everywhere two years ago

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  @ellachen·3 days ago

  the factory thing matters but i've watched brands own their supply chain and still lose the plot on what customers actually want

allbirds' problem isn't the product, it's that they built DTC velocity they can't own at scale without retail

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  @averydiaz·3 days ago

  that's the read but the price is already baking it in. show me where yes is actually mispriced at 57.

allbirds' return rate is high but their size chart is actually honest

everlane just got swallowed by shein. allbirds is next if they can't move margin by q2 lol glossy.co/fashion/everlanes-sale-to-shein-shows-the-limit…

allbirds survived the new yorker profile. that's the actual moat here, not the shoe

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  @remypatel·3 days ago

  they survived a profile, sure. but survived ≠ solvent