Birkenstock reicht Unterlagen für Börsengang ein

The long-established sandal manufacturer Birkenstock is going public in the United States. The company, headquartered in Linz am Rhein in Rhineland-Palatinate, presented its prospectus for the stock exchange on Tuesday. Key details such as the volume of the stock placement remained undisclosed for now. In July, financial news agency Bloomberg reported that Birkenstock could expect a total valuation of over eight billion dollars.

According to the company, Birkenstock’s origins date back to 1774. Almost 250 years ago, shoemaker Johannes Birkenstock laid the foundation for a „shoemaker dynasty“. The company refers to itself as the „inventor of the footbed“.

Since 2021, the main owner of Birkenstock is the investment company L Catterton, which is affiliated with the luxury conglomerate LVMH (including Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior) and its billionaire CEO Bernard Arnault. L Catterton will maintain control over Birkenstock after the IPO. The company will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol „BIRK.“

Weg vom Ökolatschen-Image

The sandals have long shed their former eco-slipper image and have become more of a fashion accessory in recent years, thanks to collaborations with luxury brands like Dior and Manolo Blahnik. Celebrities showcasing the sandals and the company’s marketing efforts have contributed to this transformation. As evidence, last year a pair of worn Birkenstock sandals belonging to Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was auctioned off for over $218,000.

Zuletzt tauchten Birkenstocks in einer symbolischen Rolle im erfolgreichen »Barbie«-Film auf. Dort muss sich Barbie erst zwischen der künstlichen Barbie-Welt und der echten, menschlichen Welt entscheiden und dafür zwischen pinken Pumps und braunen Birkenstock-Sandalen wählen. Später ist sie in pinken Birkenstocks zu sehen. »Hervorragendes Product Placement«, lobt Martin Fassnacht, Marketing- und Strategie-Professor an der WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management. »Grandios, besser kann man es nicht machen.«

Even in times of globalization, Birkenstock remains committed to Germany as its location. In the past fiscal year, the entire footbed production took place in German facilities, and 95 percent of the finished products also originated from here. In Portugal, there is an additional component manufacturing.

Wie oft bei Börsengängen erfährt man aus dem Prospekt mehr über das Geschäft. Im Ende März abgeschlossenen ersten Halbjahr des laufenden Geschäftsjahres steigerte Birkenstock den Umsatz um 18,7 Prozent auf rund 644,2 Millionen Euro. Unterm Strich blieb ein Gewinn von 40,2 Millionen Euro in den Büchern, nach rund 73,5 Millionen Euro ein Jahr zuvor. Der Rückgang ging vor allem auf ungünstige Wechselkurse zurück. Das vergangene Geschäftsjahr beendete Birkenstock mit 1,24 Milliarden Euro Umsatz und 187 Millionen Euro Gewinn.

North and South America are the most important region, accounting for 54 percent of the total business in the previous fiscal year, followed by Europe with 36 percent. Women constitute 72 percent of the customer base. Birkenstock increased the share of direct sales in revenue from 18 percent in 2018 to 38 percent recently. The most successful design is the Arizona model introduced in 1973.

In der obligatorischen Auflistung der Risiken verweist Birkenstock unter anderem auf Gefahren für das Ansehen der Marke durch im Internet verkaufte Fälschungen sowie ähnlich aussehende Schuhe der Eigenmarken von Handelskonzernen. Einige Designs von Birkenstock seien nicht geschützt.

The leadership of the company changed hands for the first time in 2013 to two managers, Markus Bensberg and Oliver Reichert. The partnership with L Catterton in 2021 has already brought Birkenstock more growth, emphasizes Fassnacht. „They understand how to manage luxury brands, which brings in money and expertise.“