Birkenstock: French billionaire buys German cult brand

The French billionaire Bernard Arnault created a luxury empire.

Now he has joined a German company steeped in tradition.

Munich - The well-known German sandal manufacturer Birkenstock has been sold.

The long-established company from Linz am Rhein is going to the US-French investment company L Catterton and the family holding Financière Agache of the French billionaire Bernard Arnault, the company announced on Friday.

Arnault is the majority owner of the French luxury group LVMH around brands such as Louis Vuitton, Dior and Dom Perignon.

The only two Birkenhof heirs, Alexander and Christian Birkenstock, sell the majority of their shares, but remain invested as minority shareholders in the shoe manufacturer.

The parties agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

The transaction is still subject to the approval of the relevant competition authorities.

Birkenstock: Company hopes for a growth market in Asia

The new co-owners will give Birkenstock "excellent market access and contacts in Asia" and will thus be able to "continue its growth course at an accelerated rate," said Managing Director Reichert.

All jobs were retained.

Birkenstock is firmly anchored in Germany.

Nothing will change that.

Birkenstock: The fans also include world stars

The company started in 1774 and has been family-owned ever since.

In the past few years, the sandals, known only as "Birkis" by fans, have become increasingly hip *.

Confessing Birkenstock wearers include Jessica Alba, Taylor Swift and Heidi Klum *.

Birkenstock produces almost exclusively in Germany.

In the pre-Corona * year 2019, the company manufactured around 25 million pairs of shoes and sandals.

The turnover was around 720 million euros, the bottom line being that the company from the vicinity of Koblenz earned a whopping 130 million euros.

That would correspond to a net margin of 18 percent.

In addition to L Catterton, there were other bidders, according to Reichert.

* Merkur.de and * tz.de are part of the Ippen Digital editorial network.

List of rubric lists: © Roland Weihrauch / dpa