The German outdoor shoe specialist Lowa, based in Jetzendorf, closes the most successful year in its history. For the first time, the number of pairs of shoes sold exceeded the three million mark and sales rose by around 23 percent from EUR 186.8 million to EUR 229.3 million.
The growth was fueled by a sustained outdoor boom, which was also fueled by the pandemic. Although sales at Lowa initially collapsed, they then rose all the faster. “In particular, the area of multifunctional shoes, which Lowa focused on early on, has developed very well and now accounts for a good half of the sales of the entire range,” explains Managing Director Alexander Nicolai.
Further growth planned – despite capacity bottlenecks
At the same time, the rapid growth is currently reaching its natural limits, as Lowa produces its own products in its own production facilities in Germany and Slovakia: “In view of the boom in demand, we are currently running at full capacity at Lowa,” Nicolai continues. The current growth is therefore based less on demand than on our own production capacities.
Nevertheless, Lowa already has new highs in its sights for the current year 2022: According to current estimates, the number of pairs sold will increase again to around 3.39 million and group sales will climb to more than 240 million euros.
In view of the global crises and the current difficulties with material availability, the time before the anniversary year 2023, when Lowa will be 100 years old, will be challenging despite the sales boom. Higher material, transportation and energy costs will inevitably affect pricing. At the same time, the company continues to work on its future. Numerous investments in the expansion and modernization of production at the Jetzendorf headquarters and at the production site in Bošany/Slovakia are planned in order to be able to meet the sharply increased demand as quickly as possible and at the same time to meet our own high quality standards.
New: Cooperation with Namuk
The new cooperation with the Swiss children’s brand Namuk can also be understood as a new step into the future: During a press conference, the shoe manufacturer presented the four children’s shoe models in a completely new look.