Allbirds lands UK debut in Covent Garden

The Mercers’ Company has today announced that luxury and sustainable footwear brand, Allbirds, will debut their first UK store in Covent Garden later this month.

Located at 121-123 Long Acre , the 1600 sq ft Allbirds store will introduce its range of ‘the world’s most comfortable shoes’ to the capital this month. The company crafts eco-friendly sneakers and casual shoes from sustainable materials. Designed in collaboration with Allbirds’s in-house team and XYZ, the new store will feature the brand’s iconic Wool, Tree and Sugar shoes.

Founded in 2016, the brand sold over a million Wool shoes in under their first two years in business. The announcement for the Allbirds Covent Garden store is the latest brick-and-mortar venture for the San Francisco-based business. With two permanent retail locations in New York and San Francisco, the international brand also recently hosted a pop-up store in Toronto. Sandeep Verma, formerly of Liz Earle, has also joined the company as Managing Director.

Allbirds commented: “Long Acre in Covent Garden is the perfect platform to launch our first European store and debut our product to the market. Because we develop products that are tactile in nature, it’s important to give customers a space to interact with our shoes. After witnessing the reaction to that first try-on moment, we understand the value in getting our products into the hands of curious shoppers so they can experience the comfort and design for themselves. This isn’t necessarily true for every company or industry, but we believe it is important for us.”

Simon Taylor, Property Director at The Mercers’ Company added: “To secure the international debut for Allbirds in Covent Garden is a significant signing for the Mercers ownership and one which will add to the exciting brands already available. This product is a completely unique offer and having a physical store and showroom in such a prime location will be a great opportunity for the brand to grow within the UK.” 

This recent opening joins the current line-up of leading UK and international brands on Long Acre including, Reiss, Levi’s and Calvin Klein underwear and Russell & Bromley. Modern kebab restaurant, Maison Bab is the newest dining offer to launch at Mercer Walk and joins Temper that opened in the summer.

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For further information, please contact Amy Cassidy at Aver via: amycassidy@aver.uk.com

Notes to Editors

About The Mercers’ Company

Over the centuries The Mercers’ Company have looked after the welfare and interests of mercers in the City of London, managed charities, almshouses, and schools, and played a prominent role in London civic life. 

During this time The Mercers’ Company have accumulated a large property portfolio, located mainly in the City of London, and in Covent Garden in the West End of London, including a Joint Venture with Shaftesbury PLC for St Martins Courtyard.

Income derived from the Company’s investments, particularly from property, funds the Company’s other activities and charitable works.

About Allbirds

A native of New Zealand, Tim Brown was always well versed in the magical qualities of merino wool. Inherently curious, he began asking himself why such a remarkable, sustainable resource was virtually absent in the footwear industry. And with that spirit of wonder, the Allbirds journey began. After years of researching and tinkering, Tim teamed up with Joey Zwillinger, an engineer and renewables expert. Together, they crafted a revolutionary wool fabric made specifically for footwear. The outcome? An entirely new category of shoes inspired by natural materials, and an ongoing mantra to create better things in a better way. Allbirds is now a B-Corp certified company based in San Francisco, California.