Birkenstock is a traditional company of German origin that has made it to the forefront of the fashion industry with its orthopedic sandals.
origins
Birkenstock has an extensive company history – the label was founded in 1744 in Hesse. More than 150 years later, Konrad Birkenstock, a descendant of the founder, introduced flexible footbed inserts for the first time, which became the trademark of the brand. The company creates its own production company and also works with various licensing partners. In the second half of the 20th century, Birkenstock became an innovator in the shoe sector thanks to its medical-fashion approach.
development
In 2013, Oliver Reichert took over the management of Birkenstock. With the handover to external hands, a new era for health shoes begins. That same year, the company also embarked on a collaboration for the first time with someone significant to the fashion industry: Phoebe Philo, then a designer at Celine, is the first in a series of creative collaborations that are bringing Birkenstock to new audiences. The sandal is thus quickly detaching itself from its previous image of a health sandal – and Birkenstock is growing steadily, both in terms of popularity among customers, retail presence, scope of the range and financial growth. At the end of 2020, the company will leave various German trade associations and will in future manage sales to its retailers independently. The reason given by the company for leaving was inadequate action by the associations against copyists.
Current
In 2021, the investment company L. Catterton acquired the majority of the German shoemaker dynasty. In addition, the company announced plans for a new distribution center in Germany at the end of 2021. The new center is expected to be operational in early 2023. In 2019, the company had a turnover of around 720 million euros and thus recorded a net profit of 130 million euros. Also in the following year, Birkenstock was able to repeat the previous year.