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German shoe manufacturer

Birkenstock Holding plc is a German shoe manufacturer known for its sandals and other shoes notable for contoured cork footbeds (soles), made with layers of suede and jute, which conform to the shape of their wearers' feet. Founded in 1774 by Johann Adam Birkenstock and headquartered in Neustadt (Wied), Rhineland Palatinate, Germany, the company's original purpose was to create shoes that support and contour the foot, compared to the flat soles of many shoes during that time. In 1896 the Fussbett (footbed) was designed, and by 1925, Birkenstocks were sold all over Europe. In 1966, Margot Fraser first brought Birkenstocks to America. In the United States, they were sold in health stores, thus becoming associated with hippies in the 1970s.

The history of the Birkenstock "shoemaking dynasty" can be traced back to the first documented mention of Johannes Birkenstock (1749 1812), registered on March 25, 1774, as a "vassal and shoemaker" in local church archives in the small Hessian village of Langen Bergheim. Since that time, there have been five generations of master shoemakers or part time shoemakers, several lines of the Birkenstock family working in the shoemaking trade and finally three generations of shoe manufacturers. In 1774, Johannes Birkenstock had already trained as a shoemaker and settled in the small Hessian town of Langen Bergheim; he became a master shoemaker shortly afterwards. After his younger brother Johann Adam Birkenstock (born 1754) died in 1790, his son Johannes (1790 1866) grew up with his uncle Johannes and also became a master shoemaker. His grandson, Konrad Birkenstock (1873 1950), left the Wetterau after also training as a shoemaker and opened an orthopaedic shoemaker's workshop in Frankfurt am Main in 1896 and founded Konrad Birkenstock GmbH a year later. Konrad Birkenstock developed the first contoured insole for use by shoemakers in the production of custom footwear. His success in orthopaedic circles with his insoles and health shoes and the satisfaction of his customers did not lead to financial success. The inventor Konrad Birkenstock concentrated too much on the further development of his material mix in order to further develop healthy walking. When he himself was called to the orthopaedic workshop of the Friedrichsheiner Klinik in Frankfurt am Main and therefore did not have to do military service he relocated his business activities. In 1915, Konrad Birkenstock acquired a house in Friedberg (Hesse), where the production of insoles now took place. As a master orthopaedic shoemaker, Konrad Birkenstock invented a fully plastic last as early as 1897 and a fully plastic flexible insole in 1902. Shoes made on this last and with this insole were called "health footwear" by Konrad Birkenstock. In the 1920s, Birkenstock insoles were already being supplied to Austria, France, Denmark, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Luxembourg, Belgium, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland. Konrad Birkenstock had three sons and one daughter. Over the course of time, they all became involved in the manufacture of orthopaedic insoles, in different companies and in different family constellations. Carl continued to develop his father's deposits, was active with his own business in Vienna from 1923 to 1926 and founded Geb. Birkenstock GmbH in Steinhude am Meer together with his brothers Heinrich and Konrad Jr. in 1929. From 1939, Carl Birkenstock continued to run the company, which at that time had 13 employees, alone without his brothers. There is no evidence of forced laborers in the Birkenstock family companies, which is not surprising given the small size of the companies and the non war related production. Birkenstock was neither an ideologically convinced National Socialist nor a hero. Even though he wanted to do something good for mankind with his healthy footwear, his dealings with individuals were robust. After 1945, Carl Birkenstock continued to pursue his idea of his handmade healthy footwear at his new headquarters in Bad Honnef near Bonn. He wanted to make this "ideal shoe" suitable for mass production, which he tried to realize together with shoe manufacturers until 1961, when he abandoned this idea and retired to writing books on foot health. In 1963, Karl Birkenstock released his first model, the "Original Birkenstock Footbed Sandal", an athletic sandal with a flexible footbed, which has been called "Madrid" since 1979, laying the foundation for the company's expansion since the 1970s. The shoe was constructed so that the wearer would have to grip their toes to keep the sandals on; this resulted in toning the calf muscle, However, the market launch in 1963 was a disaster. No shoe retailer wanted to offer the gender neutral sandal, which was diametrically opposed to the shoe fashion trend of the time Italian stilletos and consequently orders failed to materialize. The first sales were made through direct marketing in the medical sector. Birkenstock Orthopädie GmbH, as the company was now called, was run jointly by Karl and his wife Gisela. The number of employees in 1970 was 57. Due to Fraser's relief from her foot condition and her enthusiasm for the sandals, Birkenstocks were introduced in the United States—though some hurdles stood in the way of their eventual acceptance by American buyers. Many shoe stores rejected the sandals due to their appearance, leading Fraser to health stores near the granola section. The 1970s brought a spike in sales. In the United States, Birkenstocks were first popular among young men and later on among flower children, a group traditionally associated with American liberalism. The shoe became popular with hippies and others who had a "back to nature" philosophy and appreciated the natural foot shape and foot friendly comfort of Birkenstocks. Hippies and representatives of the tech movement in California discovered the shoes as an expression of the unconventional. In the 1970s, Fraser successfully continued to sell them from organic supermarkets and quickly expanded with her company, Birkenstock Footprint Sandals, Inc., in Novato, California, which later became Birkenstock USA, in the largest market for Birkenstocks since the 1980s. Birkenstock sandals became popular in Germany in the 1980s. Since the 1960s, Birkenstock sandals had become popular in the care professions and in the alternative and peace movement, and then also in "middle class" households as slippers and leisure shoes. They were not developed for the medical sector, but were designed from the outset for young and old as well as all types of occupations and leisure activities. Although derided at the shoe trade fair in 1963, Karl Birkenstock developed the closed sandal "Zürich" the following year, followed by the strappy sandal "Roma" in 1965, the low shoe "Oslo" and the boot "Athen" in the second half of the 1960s. A first plastic model the "Noppy" massage sandal saw the light of day in the new decade. In 1973, Birkenstock's most popular sandal, Arizona, was introduced. This was followed in 1976 by the first cork clog, the "Boston", and finally in 1983 by the range of thong sandals, including the "Gizeh".

Fraser's trading company named Birkenstock Footprint Sandals, Inc., was renamed Birkenstock Distribution USA, Inc. (BDUSA) in 2005. The company remained until 2007 the exclusive importer and distributor of Birkenstock name brand products in the United States. In 2007 the owners of Birkenstock Orthopädie GmbH & Co. KG purchased their long standing distribution partner BDUSA. In 1986 Nordstrom became the first department store to sell Birkenstock sandals. The success of Birkenstock sandals on the European markets and in the USA since the 1970s led to strong growth for the company. After German reunification in 1990, Karl Birkenstock seized the opportunity and expanded production into the new federal states. However, growth came at a price: conflicts arose with various trade unions in the company. After Karl Birkenstock retired from the company in the early 2000s, his three sons, Christian, Stephan, and Alexander Birkenstock, took over management and ownership. The handover took the form of a multi brand strategy, with Alexander, Christian and Stephan Birkenstock each responsible for their own brands and companies. Each of them had different ideas for the company's future and ended up creating multiple competing product lines and subsidiaries. Since the 1980s, the fashion world, celebrities and designers have discovered Birkenstock for themselves and sent models down the catwalk in the sandals. The first appearance with André Walker in New York can be traced back to 1983. Pictures of models also adorned covers and articles in well known fashion magazines. Birkenstocks saw another comeback among teens and young adults in the early 2010s, as well as in the late 2010s due in part to the VSCO girl trend. The company was given PETA's Libby Award for being the "Most Animal Friendly Shoe Company" in 2018. In 2013, the company, which had previously consisted of 38 individual companies since the 1990s, was fundamentally restructured to form a single group of companies, the Birkenstock Group. In 2013, Stephan sold his stake to the two brothers; they recruited Oliver Reichert, an outsider, to consolidate various subsidiaries into Birkenstock Group and lead the company. In February 2021, the American French investment company L Catterton and the family holding Financière Agache, the private equity firm backed by Bernard Arnault's LVMH, acquired a majority stake in the German sandal manufacturer Birkenstock. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price or other details of the transaction. According to media reports, they had agreed to buy Birkenstock in a deal that valued the company at about €4bn. Christian and Alex Birkenstock retained minority ownership and remained responsible for production in Germany. In September 2023, Birkenstock filed for an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States stating that the company would be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the stock ticker "BIRK". The company completed the IPO and went public on 11 October 2023 raising US$1.48 billion valuing the company at $8.64 billion. Following the IPO, L Catterton continued to be a controlling shareholder with 83 percent ownership. Alex exited his stake following the IPO. As of 2023, 72 percent of their customers were female.

Birkenstock has been collaborating with fashion brands and designers since the early 2000s. The third collaboration initially the most significant due to its duration was with Heidi Klum from 2003. In 2012 Birkenstocks were spotted on a Céline runway in Paris. Called "Furkenstocks", this recreation of the Arizona sandal incorporated a mink covered footbed. The "Furkenstocks" caused a sensation and soon original Birkenstock sandals were appearing in fashion magazines again. Besides Céline's creative director Phoebe Philo, many other designers have also created their version of the sandal, including Giambattista Valli and Givenchy. On June 3, 2021, the Birkenstock Group announced a collaboration with fashion designer Rick Owens. Starting on June 4 of that year, interpretations of the Arizona and Boston models were released. A new Rotterdam style was also presented and released for sale.

The original footbed of the Birkenstock shoe was created in the 1930s and possesses four different layers that complete the shoe. The first layer of the shoe is the shock absorbent sole, followed by a layer of jute fibers, a firm cork footbed, and another layer of jute. The last layer is the footbed line which is a soft suede. In addition to the original footbed, Birkenstock gives the option of a soft footbed. The shoe is made of the same materials as the original footbed, with the addition of a foam insert placed under the suede lining. In 2015, Birkenstock introduced a lightweight, waterproof shoe called the Birkenstock EVA, made of a material called ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA).