Birkenstock is the latest high-profile listing to put investor focus on the initial public offering market, which is gradually reopening after two relatively quiet years and a burst of activity in September.
"The question is, how do you create desirability for people to buy another pair of Birkenstocks?" said Mamta Valechha, consumer discretionary analyst at asset manager Quilter Cheviot in London. A trend towards more casual dressing, turbo-charged by the Covid-19 pandemic, has kept them popular in recent years.
Yet people have continued to buy Birkenstocks and the brand has modernised and built momentum, she said. Retailers like Foot Locker and Dick's Sporting Goods have started to cut back on their shoe orders, though neither carries Birkenstock.