How a 250 year old company made ‘healthy feet’ a multi-billion dollar fashion sensation.
In the Great Fashion Timeline there are few, if any, brands that come close to possessing the ubiquitous brand presence of Birkenstock. Since 1774 when Johann Birkenstock was registered as a ‘shoemaker’ in his local church, for two-and-a-half centuries, the German-based, family-owned foot care business has evolved from a quiet shoemaker’s workshop into a billion dollar brand behemoth.
So how does Birkenstock stack up against other household fashion names, in terms of storied history? What has the brand grown through and witnessed, and how could it have shaped the footwear fanatics’ flight path?
First of all, let’s just discuss what an unbelievable lifespan 250 years is in the life of a brand. For context, here are some local and international milestones to compare it to:
Zambesi is 45, and was founded in 1979. The moon landing happened a decade before that in 1969. The ‘60s were strong for fashion, with Yves Saint Laurent starting in 1961 and Valentino in 1960, and the ‘50s belong to Givenchy which started in 1952 and the ‘40s to Adidas (1949). Then there’s World War II from 1939-1945, the 1930s is when we discovered nuclear technology, Gucci arrived in 1921 and we can book-end this paragraph with an entirely new war – WWI from 1914-1918. Then there’s Prada which launched in 1913, Van Cleef and Arpels, 1906, and Levi’s way back in 1853.
I could go on, but you get the point. Starting something in 1774 which is still alive and evolving and loved 250 years later is, quite frankly, bonkers.
The real magic started happening in 1896, when Konrad Birkenstock starting making flexible footbed insoles, and this demand soared through to 1920’s, ‘30s and ‘40s when Carl Birkenstock started designing and sharing the Carl Birkenstock System: a course and later a book that espoused the benefits of foot care and podiatry. Over the years this focus on ‘healthy feet’ has been at the core of Birkstock, never far from the thoughts when the brand launches a new design, collaboration, production facility or retail experience.
Fast forward to 2020, Birkenstock had become so ubiquitous that it was named ‘Brand of the Year’ by US Shoe Magazine, ‘Sandal of the Year’ by British Vogue, and the Lyst index publishes data that points to the Arizona being ‘the world’s hottest women’s shoe’.
Johann would be proud.
But for the modern day consumer, it’s Birkenstock’s laid back, no-logo designs that have come to underpin its desirability. Unlike the brand’s biggest modern-day fashion competitor – Crocs – Birkenstock is quiet, unfussy, efficient and modest. Its core designs such as Arizona and Boston (the latter has formed a part of the Kiwi fashion vernacular for the last 24 months) remain largely unchanged since first launched, save for the addition of a ‘big buckle’ on the Arizona from time to time. In the modern day search to ‘say less’, Birkenstock is everyone’s foundation item when they want to fit in with ‘quiet luxury’.
And when I say ‘everyone’ I mean it. The beautiful simplicity of Birkenstock appeals to every man and woman, from doctors and chefs, to surfers and Yogis, fashion kids and tech bros, millennials, Gen Z, Boomers, Grandmas, Grandads, children, parents, school teachers, models, athletes, mountain climbers, Gym Bros and more. Name a more iconic sandal.
Right now Birkenstock is valued at just under USD$10 billion, making it one of the world’s most valuable stand-alone fashion brands. Oliver Reichart sits atop this mega-brand as CEO, and was one of the first people to run the company outside of the Birkenstock family. As it surpasses two-and-a-half centuries of history, Birkenstock shows few signs of changing direction or slowing down, and is one of the few fashion brands in the world that can be recognised for its designs alone, rather than a logo; proof that smart design is the ultimate tool in sustainability, and that good things do indeed take time.