About us

OUR BRAND PURPOSE

OUR BRAND PURPOSE

The human foot is a masterpiece of nature, a bio-mechanical marvel. Our feet have 28 bones each – one-quarter of all the bones in the human body – and are intertwined with 19 muscles and 107 tendons and ligaments. This amazingly powerful and beautiful structure builds the solid foundation for our body system.

From the moment we learn to walk our feet enable us to discover the world – and help those who need our support along the way. Thanks to our feet we can climb the highest mountains, cross deserts, dance, jump, and play. Our feet allow us to challenge our limits and carry us through our lives.

About six million years ago, our ancestors began to walk upright. Barefoot, of course, until well into modern times. Shoemaking origins date back thousands of years rooted in a human need to protect our feet. As civilization developed, our environment changed and so, too, has footwear design. In the industrial age shoes evolved into a fashion item but this came at the expense of foot health. Since that time shoes have very ignored the natural needs of our feet.

INNOVATION AS PART OF THE FAMILY DNA

At the turn of the 20th century, Konrad Birkenstock, direct descendant of German shoemakers Johannes and Johann Adam Birkenstock revolutionized the industry. Konrad’s inventions of the contoured shoe last and the flexible insole were ground¬breaking innovations. His legacy inspired the concept of “Naturgewolltes Gehen” to walk as nature intended. This led to the evolution of the “ideal shoe”, BIRKENSTOCK’s vision of the perfect healthy shoe and inspired later on the invention of the BIRKENSTOCK footbed sandal. The philosophy of “Naturgewolles Gehen” continues to shape our actions generations later and guides our three core values.

OUR CORE VALUES/h2>

FUNCTION

We follow a function-first philosophy. Functionality and usability are the focus points of our product creation. A form that allows for function creates an indissoluble unity in all our products and sets the framework for our recognizable aesthetic signature. Our footbed represents the epitome of healthy footwear. Its function is the guiding principle in everything we do and sets the framework for our distinctive design signature. We are the inventor of the footbed.

QUALITY

BIRKENSTOCK is synonymous with quality. Our products are made to endure, they comprise responsibly sourced highest quality materials and are meticulously crafted in our own production facilities. The quality of our products can be felt in their longevity and durability, and a tactile product experience, which puts the health of our feet first.

TRADITION

BIRKENSTOCK is a company with an exceptional heritage. With our origins dating back to the year 1774, BIRKENSTOCK’s brand is built on two and a half centuries of a family tradition in shoemaking.

PURPOSE, VISION AND MISSION

OUR PURPOSE

Our purpose is to empower all people to walk the way nature intended.

OUR VISION

Our vision is to give all people access to an anatomically correct footbed.

OUR MISSION

To achieve our vision, we organize our business to adhere to the highest quality standards while striving to reduce our impact on our environment.

INVENTOR OF THE FOOTBED

Since 1774, we’ve been thinking of ways we – the inventor of the footbed – can make the lives of our customers better and richer – with a good shoe for all situations in life. In an overwhelmingly price-driven consumer world characterized by throwaway products from low-wage economies, BIRKENSTOCK, with its premium-quality products, offers an alternative for all those who place value on functionality and quality.

We manufacture our sandals in Germany under the best conditions for our brand in our own production facilities with an extensive amount of handwork. Depending on the model, a sandal undergoes up to 17 steps. It takes well over 100 highly skilled hand movements to make our finished closed-toe BIRKENSTOCK models. Our closed-toe shoes are made in workshops in Portugal in accordance with the principles of a centuries-old tradition of hand craftsmanship.

Whether they are produced by hand or using industrial methods – all BIRKENSTOCK products meet the highest quality standards in the shoe industry anywhere in the world. We make just as few compromises when we source our materials (cork, natural latex, copper, brass, wool felt and the best leather) as we do when we process them. Our raw materials come from sustainable natural resources. Where possible, we source these materials in Europe.

CORPORATE MANAGEMENT

Since the formation of the BIRKENSTOCK Group at the end of 2012, Oliver Reichert has been the first CEO from outside the family to head the long-standing company. At first, he represented the Group together with Markus Bensberg, since 01 May 2021 as the sole CEO. Oliver Reichert is the engine and the driving force behind BIRKENSTOCK’s transition to become a global lifestyle brand, thereby laying the foundation for the company’s strong global growth.

THE CORNERSTONE OF OUR BRAND – TWO AND A HALF CENTURIES OF EXPERIENCE

Trends come and go, but truly great things last forever. Take our classic sandals, for example. For millions of satisfied customers around the world, they are the epitome of wearer comfort. The success of BIRKENSTOCK is rooted in its commitment to the art of making orthopedically inspired shoes. Over the centuries, it has built up a wealth of experience that it has cultivated and passed down from one generation to the next.

As a family company in the sixth generation, we see things differently. We focus on what matters in everything we do. Every satisfied customer will come back and happily recommend us. We don’t even have to do that much – apart from looking after our products and the needs of our customers with tremendous passion and belief, of course. In this way, our company has grown healthily from one year to the next, maturing into one of the world’s best-known shoe brands. We’ve got nothing against smart advertising, but successful marketing always starts with a good product. This is something that is all too often forgotten these days.

6200

Employees around the world

TOP 5

Global footwear brand

Largest employer of
the german shoe industry

WELL-BEING AS A PRINCIPLE

We create products that make the lives of our customers better. At the heart of our products is our unique, anatomically shaped footbed. BIRKENSTOCK invented the footbed and has also shaped the meaning of the term “footbed,” which is so common today. The footbed is not only a unique, revolutionary product concept that paved the way for a completely new market. It’s also a core idea and a reference point for everything that we do. Now and in the future. Everyone should have access to our footbed.

BIRKENSTOCK products do what they promise. They are functional, well made, and durable. If cared for properly, they will last for years. The high level of quality is the result of carefully selected, high-quality materials from sustainable sources that are processed under what are for our brand typically demanding conditions. Our products promote well-being. They literally do good.