Asia-Pacific Power List 2022: Mits Minowa, Allbirds

Mits Minowa

Marketing director
Allbirds
Japan
New member  

In the space of six years, Allbirds has gone from being a startup with bold ambitions, listing on the NASDAQ—and seeing its valuation pop to $4 billion—to a 50% crash in stock price and being questioned over its true-green credentials. The sneaker and accessories brand has sought to carve a distinct niche for itself in the competitive market as a brand selling products that by its own words are about “looking good, feeling good and doing good.”

Steering the company through this roller coaster is Mits Minowa, the firm’s marketing director based in Japan. The former Red Bull, Uniqlo and Nike marketer has been instrumental in taking the brand global—and launching in Japan was a key step. Allbirds began as a direct-to-consumer brand but has since expanded into offline and online retail to keep pace with growth.

Historically, Allbirds has been an active investor in marketing and PR, spending a fifth of its revenue in these segments. The brand has also sought to burnish its sustainable values by increasing the price of its products—albeit by a dollar—during frenetic sale periods to deter mindless buying. It has also waded into the topic of climate change by collaborating with activists and influencers to amplify its stance.

To support the brand, Allbirds has kept to the brand’s quirky credo and signed up Kiwi indie agency Wrestler as its creative shop of record. The brand has also embarked on a series of collaborations worldwide (including one with Adidas to ‘reimagine’ the running shoe), launched several initiatives to add muscle to its green credentials (a recommerce offering and a cheeky campaign called keeptheamazonprime.com targeted at spendthrift online shoppers), and launched a performance apparel range.