Allbirds is taking its next retail step — this time with the opening of its first store in Los Angeles.
The brand, known for its environmentally friendly footwear for adults and children, will be opening its doors in August on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice.
The 2,000-square-foot boutique marks the sixth for the company and will be distinguished by a series of city-specific touch points and also includes a service wall of inventory designed to cut down wait times for busy consumers. In addition, the store features chairs designed by Allbirds’ head of design Jamie McLennan, constructed to be the ideal height to try on shoes and have a slight tilt, making it easier for customers to tie their shoes.
“We’d been looking at L.A. for some time. It’s a prime shopping market, but it’s almost like five medium-sized cities,” said Travis Boyce, head of global retail operations for Allbirds. “I spent a ton of time in shopping centers and neighborhoods, and we always came back to Abbot Kinney.”
According to the San Francisco-based company, Los Angles is one of the biggest markets for the brand, which has done pop-ups in Silver Lake and downtown. Its location next door to Salt & Straw ice cream and across the street from Scotch & Soda in Venice is likely to garner it even more attention.
Boyce noted there will likely be a special style released for the opening, with color-coded laces tied to the local community. “We’ve done it for other stores and are excited to come up with something special and cool for Venice, which has a colorful community and tons of murals,” he noted.
While Allbirds continues to ramp up its store openings stateside, it’s also moving into China, with a location at Shanghai’s Taikoo Hui shopping mall in addition to teaming up with Alibaba to sell product on its Tmall platform. It will also sell its shoes in China on its own brand website.
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