Asked to choose between a brown Birkenstock and a pink stiletto, most people would be able to make a fairly quick decision. In this year’s Barbie movie, Weird Barbie challenges Stereotypical Barbie to make this very choice. To Barbie, the high heel represents a life of beach fun and dance parties, while the sandal means “knowing the truth about the universe”.
As a result, financial analysts predicted the German shoe brand would be valued at more than US$8 billion in advance of its shares becoming available to the public on the New York Stock Exchange. Birkenstock’s initial public offering will be third-largest US listing so far in 2023. Not bad for functional footwear that was originally developed to improve foot health.
It was at this time that Birkenstock transitioned from orthopaedic footwear into fashion, helped along by entrepreneur Robert Lusk. He identified that the counter-culture generation wanted a comfortable alternative to mainstream commercial products. This scarcity effect led to production in Germany being ramped up. When a brand sees a spike in distribution such as this, it can turn customers off. But, unusually, greater availability did little to dent demand for Birkenstocks and doesn’t seem to have damaged its “brand equity” in the long term either. This is the value a company derives from consumer perception of its brand. Birkenstock’s collaborations with high-end designers like Dior and Manolo Blahnik have also boosted its brand equity.
Wearing your values American conservatives refer pejoratively to “Birkenstock liberals”, but the style has become associated with a universal nonchalance and quirky charm, while also representing “inconspicuous consumption” – just like other ethical shoe brands such as Allbirds.