Discover Germany, Switzerland & Austria
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Barbara Geier Column
Ugly for a reason
TEXT & PHOTOS: BARBARA GEIER
What’s your take on Birkenstocks? For me, they
German family-owned business with roots going
man theme (Health! Comfort! Who cares what it
are some of the ugliest shoes that exist. And to
back to the 18th century, is now owned by L Cat-
looks like!) and, of course, back in 1774, on the
spare all potential Birkenstock fans the outrage,
terton, a private equity firm backed by the luxury
expertise, inventiveness and craftsmanship of a
the company itself produced a series of videos
group LVMH. This means that the ‘ugly shoe’
master shoemaker called Johann Adam Birken-
last year, “exploring the relevance of foot health
now sits side by side in a portfolio with Louis
stock. With Birkenstocks being all the rage, will I
and revealing why healthy shoes look exactly the
Vuitton, Dior, Bulgari and the like. When LVMH
venture out any time soon now to finally get my
way they do”, which they entitled ‘Ugly for a Rea-
CEO Bernard Arnault was asked how the “Birkis”
own pair of comfy sandals? That’s still a no, I’ll
son’. There you have it.
fit into this concept, he referred to Birkenstock
stick to shoes that are comfortable AND meet
being “one of the few iconic brands in the shoe
my personal taste. But I have a feeling Mr Arnault
industry”. And what can I say, he’s right.
& Co. won’t need my support anyway…
But irrespective of personal taste, there was some recent news about the German shoe manufacturer that made me ponder the astounding
If you had told me all that in the 1980s and 1990s
international success of the Birkenstock brand:
when I was in school and university in Germany,
The company, headquartered in western Germa-
I would certainly not have believed it. Back then,
ny in the small town of Linz on the Rhine, recently
while Birkenstocks were already very popular
opened a big new production facility in Pasewalk,
and worn by many (not me, needless to say), they
another small town but in the country’s east
also had a reputation that was nowhere near
close to the Polish border, to keep up with the de-
the cool and iconic brand it now is. They were
mand for its healthy shoes. They spent around
‘Öko-Schlappen‘ (eco slippers), with a green and
EUR 100 million on the site, the largest single
hippie-ish image. Shoes for people who are the
investment in the company’s history, and plan
opposite of fashionistas and care about comfort
to employ 1,000 staff at the factory in the long-
and foot-friendly design.
term and produce up to 6.4 million pairs of shoes per year. That’s a lot of shoes ‘made in Pasewalk’
Fast forward a couple of decades and in a com-
(lost on Germans, but just noticed there’s a nice
plete reversal, fashionistas around the world
wordplay opportunity for the pun-loving Brits).
wear Birkenstocks, due to a mix of celebrity endorsements and clever collabs with high-fashion
The other piece of news is that of Birkenstock’s
brands. Or how about the most recent appear-
IPO at the New York Stock Exchange, scheduled
ance of a Birkenstock sandal in the Barbie movie,
for the second half of October – with an impres-
which resulted in a 518 % increase in UK Google
sive valuation of approximately USD 8 billion.
searches for ‘womens Birkenstocks’. There you
Most of the company, which used to be a classic
go. A proper success story, based on a very Ger-
Discover Germany Issue 111, November 2023
Editor Nane Steinhoff
Silke Henkele Wibke Carter
Published 11.2023 ISSN 2051-7718
Assistant Editor Marilena Stracke
Cover Photo Andre Schoenherr, Alta Badia
Published by Scan Magazine Ltd.
Copy-Editor Vera Winther
Print Stibo Complete
Graphic Designer Mercedes Moulia
Executive Editor Thomas Winther
Contributors Barbara Geier Cornelia Brelowski Marilena Stracke Signe Hansen
Creative Director Mads E. Petersen
122
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Issue 11 1
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November 2023
Sales & Key Account Managers Julia Freisinger Lawinia Toth Sophie Blecha
Barbara Geier is a London-based freelance writer, translator and communications consultant. She is also the face behind www.germanyiswunderbar.com, a German travel and tourism guide and blog that was set up together with UK travel writer Andrew Eames in 2010.
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