German footwear maker Birkenstock files for IPO in further boost to US market

SoftBank Group Corp.’s semiconductor designer Arm, grocery delivery firm Instacart Inc. and marketing and data automation provider Klaviyo Inc. Founded nearly 250 years ago, Birkenstock developed a contoured insole for greater comfort.

The modern, cork-lined sandals took hold in the 1970s, as shoppers from the US Southwest to Europe became enamored with the comfy style. Birkenstock has since become a high-fashion brand, launching collaborations with luxury names such as Dior, Manolo Blahnik and Valentino, and spawning variants from labels including Celine and Givenchy. More than half — 54% — of the company’s customers are in the Americas with Europe accounting for 36%, according to Tuesday’s filing.

While women make up 72% of Birkenstock customers, the footwear has broad cross-generational appeal, led by millennials with 31% of sales, followed by baby boomers with 30%, Gen X with 27% and Gen Z with 12%. A listing would cap off a successful run for the company, whose family heirs stepped back from management duties about a decade ago. Since then, it’s streamlined strategy, launched high-profile collaborations and experienced explosive growth in demand.

“We see ourselves as the oldest startup on earth," Chief Executive Officer Oliver Reichert said in a letter to investors included in the filing. “We are a brand backed by a family tradition of a quarter of a millennium with the resilience, timeless relevance, and credibility of a multi-generational business." Sales have been boosted of late by the blockbuster Barbie movie, whose star Margot Robbie sports a pair of pink Birkenstocks in one scene. For the six months ended March 31, the company had a net profit of €40 million on revenue of €644 million, according to the