News Detail Press

Neustadt (Wied)/Novato (California) ,
26.04.2017

Birkenstock Mourns the Loss of Margot Fraser

The German-American discovered BIRKENSTOCK sandals during a trip to Germany and introduced them to the US market.

Birkenstock USA announced today the recent passing of Margot Fraser. Ms. Fraser is responsible for bringing Birkenstock products to the U.S. and for building the brand over its first 40 years in the market.

Ms. Fraser was a German-American dressmaker and designer when she first discovered Birkenstock sandals on a spa trip to Germany in 1966. These sandals had an anatomically designed, orthopedically-correct contoured cork footbed. She instantly experienced comfort and relief from the constrictive, poorly-made shoes that were common at that time. Her toes straightened. Her back felt better. She was so impressed that she contacted Karl Birkenstock to explore importing his family’s ‘odd-looking sandals’ into the U.S. She was granted the distribution rights and set about building Birkenstock from her home in Northern California.

Ms. Fraser was a humble trailblazer. She was a female entrepreneur during a time when this was quite rare. Without any traditional retail or footwear experience, she built a multimillion dollar business that brought comfort to millions of people. She did so, always, with a warm smile, a deep belief in the product and a sincere appreciation of the people she worked with throughout the industry.

Today, in the U.S., Birkenstock is found in the finest retail stores. Birkenstock is worn by celebrities and on the pages of fashion magazines. Most important to Margot though, Birkenstock is found on the feet of millions of passionate consumers that find comfort and satisfaction in those ‘odd-looking sandals.’

“It is not an overstatement to say that Margot’s pioneering efforts paved the way for European comfort brands here in the U.S.,” said David Kahan, CEO of Birkenstock Americas. “It is because of Margot and the foundation she built that the brand is enjoying the success that it is today. And, it is because of Margot that shoes that are good for you have a place in so many stores and closets across the country.”

Ms. Fraser was inducted into the Footwear News (FN) Hall of Fame in 1997 and the National Shoe Retailers Association (NSRA) Hall of Fame in 2014.

Press contact

Jochen Gutzy
Chief Communications Officer

Birkenstock Group B.V. & Co. KG
Burg Ockenfels
53545 Linz

Postal address:
Sedanstraße 4
D-50668 Köln

E-mail:mediabirkenstockcom

About BIRKENSTOCK

BIRKENSTOCK is a global brand which embraces all consumers regardless of geography, gender, age and income and which is committed to a clear purpose - maintaining foot health. Deeply rooted in studies of the biomechanics of the human foot and footed on a family tradition of shoemaking that can be traced back to 1774, BIRKENSTOCK is a timeless «super brand» with a brand universe that transcends product categories and ranges from entry-level to luxury price points while addressing the growing need for a conscious and active lifestyle. Function, quality and tradition are the core values of the lifestyle brand which features products in the footwear, sleep systems and natural cosmetics segments. BIRKENSTOCK is the inventor of the footbed and has shaped the principle of walking as intended by nature (“Naturgewolltes Gehen”).

With around 6,200 employees worldwide, we believe how things are made matters as much as the product itself. To ensure these quality standards, we operate a vertically integrated manufacturing base and produce all our footbeds in Germany. In addition, we assemble over 95% of our products in Germany and we source over 90% of our materials and components from Europe. We process our inputs to the highest environmental and social standards in the industry by operating state-of-the-art scientific laboratories for materials testing.

BIRKENSTOCK runs operational sites in Germany, in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse, Bavaria, Saxony, and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Headquartered in Linz am Rhein, the BIRKENSTOCK Group also operates its own sales offices in the United States and Canada as well as in Brazil, Japan, Denmark, Poland, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, the United Kingdom, France, Norway, the Netherlands, Dubai, Singapore and India.

Birkenstock Group B.V. & Co. KG Burg Ockenfels,
Linz am Rhein, Germany

You can find our online shop at www.birkenstock.com