Birkenstock - Fashion Company Profile
Birkenstock is the German footwear company organised around one invention: the contoured cork-and-latex footbed that shapes itself to the wearer's foot, best known in the two-strap Arizona sandal and the Boston clog. Founded in 1774 and run by the Birkenstock family for six generations, it was majority-sold to L Catterton in 2021 and listed in New York in 2023, by then firmly repositioned from health shoe to fashion staple.
Company Snapshot
- Status
- Operating - listed on the New York Stock Exchange in October 2023 (ticker BIRK); L Catterton remains the majority shareholder
- Type
- Public - NYSE: BIRK
- Headquarters
- Linz am Rhein, Germany
- Founded
- 1774, in Langen-Bergheim, Germany
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Company Profile
Most Birkenstock footwear is still made in Germany, and the range has stretched from sandals into shoes, boots and skincare without changing the footbed that defines it. The American chapter of the story - the health-store years - is told in the profile section below.
BIRKENSTOCK is the inventor of the world's first ever flexible cork deep footbed, as the historical record states it. Only the best raw materials are used for genuine Birkenstock footbeds: light natural cork, jute yarn and high-grade natural latex. The footbed is based around the anatomy of the foot in such a way that the body's weight is spread evenly and naturally over the entire sole of the foot. The leathers used are especially thick - approximately three millimetres - yet still soft, un-split so they retain all of their natural qualities. With more than 230 years of experience in the fine art of shoemaking, gathered in the traditional way from one generation to the next, the company guarantees its shoes exhibit the finest workmanship and the utmost quality.
Birkenstock History
The earlier record for this company - its history, past brand line-ups, figures and photographs from the periods described - is kept on a separate page for historical reference.
Birkenstock History & Historical Profile →Common Questions
What is Birkenstock known for, as recorded?
Sandals and shoes notable for contoured cork and rubber footbeds that conform somewhat to the wearer's feet; the company is the inventor of the first flexible cork deep footbed, made from natural cork, jute yarn and high-grade natural latex.
Which two products does historical descriptions name as representative?
The two-strap Arizona sandal and the Boston clog.
How did Birkenstock reach the United States?
Sold in the USA since 1967; Margot Fraser discovered the sandals on holiday in Germany and founded the Novato, California distributor (Birkenstock Footprint Sandals, later Birkenstock Distribution USA), which the German owners purchased in 2007.
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References & Further Reading
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