‘From high flyer to dead parrot’: former billion-dollar eco-shoe brand Allbirds sold for $39m

Once-hyped, celebrity-backed company snapped up by American Exchange Group for fraction of former value

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Allbirds, the San Francisco sustainable trainer brand once valued at more than $4bn, is being sold for just $39m after global demand for its wool-based footwear failed to materialise.

American Exchange Group, the owner of a string of brands including the fashion label Ed Hardy and the accessories maker Born, is snapping up the struggling company once touted as the future of footwear.