Birkenstock announces plans to invest 100 million euros

The high-end sandal manufacturer, which is based in Linz am Rhein, in Rhineland-Palatinate, has revealed plans to invest around 100 million euros in its industrial expansion. 

Some four months after its acquisition by investment fund L Catterton and Financière Agache, which valued the company at around 4 billion euros, Birkenstock's management announced on Monday that it will be investing some 50 million euros in the modernization of its largest factory, in Görlitz, east Saxony, which employs 1,900 people. The facility will principally manufacture sandals made of cork latex. As reported by German business newspaper Handelsblatt, the company will also be investing a further 50 million euros in the construction of a new factory focused on the production of synthetic sandals. 

This strategy makes manifest the plans announced by Bernard Arnault, who, as well as being linked to L Catterton via LVMH, is also head of Financière Agache. At the time of the company's acquisition, the luxury magnate explained, "we are going to help Birkenstock attain its considerable growth potential."

According to Birkenstock, the company is examining three or four possible sites in eastern Germany and north Bavaria for its new factory, which will initially create 400 jobs, before expanding to employ 1,000 people. The decision is due to be made in autumn 2021, with production set to start in the new factory in 2023. In Rhineland-Palatinate, the company already has a factory in Sankt Katharinen and a logistics centre in Vettelschoß.

Founded in 1774, Birkenstock "currently employs approximately 5,500 people around the world, a number which is growing," according to a company spokesperson. In 2019, Birkenstock achieved revenue of around 720 million euros and net income of 130 million euros. The company reportedly generated a similar level of revenue in 2020, despite two months of factory closures. 

With DPA