Birkenstock sales step up in ‘ugly shoe summer'
The German sandal maker said sales rose 16% in the three months to the end of June, if currency fluctuations were excluded. The average price of its products sold rose by about 5% and the number of items sold rose by about 8%.
There was demand for its suede leather closed-toe Boston clogs, which sell for as much as £250 and generally cost more than the brand's more well-known sandals, which are priced from £105 for a leather version.
Total sales at the company, which listed on the US stock market in October 2023 valued at $7.5bn (£5.5bn), rose 12% to €635m (£546m) in the quarter with net profit up 73% to €129m.
This summer there has been an upturn in popularity of quirky footwear, from rubber flip-flops to glove-like fitness shoes that fit each individual toe.
However, the 'ugly' footwear brand Crocs last week reported a 30% slump in sales amid new competition from split-toe shoes to flip-flops and Birkenstock's clogs, which come in plastic as well as leather.
Known for its cork-lined sandals, Birkenstock pledged to make its offering more varied, with more clogs, trainers, shoes and boots when it launched on the stock market.
The company makes 95% of its shoes at its own factories in Germany. Its chief executive, Oliver Reichert, said it was 'well-positioned to manage the impact' of new US import tariffs of 15% on goods imported from the EU.
He said the higher costs would be managed through a combination of 'pricing adjustment, cost discipline and inventory management to protect the long-term health and profitability of the Birkenstock brand'.
Sign up to Business Today
Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning
after newsletter promotion
Reichert said that the company was on track to achieve full-year sales growth at the top end of expectations of 15% to 17%.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News
22 minutes ago
- Sky News
Whitehall on alert for collapse of Gupta's steel empire
The metals tycoon Sanjeev Gupta is this weekend plotting a controversial deal that would keep him in control of his remaining UK steel operations and avert their collapse into compulsory liquidation – a move that would put close to 1,500 jobs at risk. Sky News has learnt that Mr Gupta is in talks about a so-called connected pre-pack administration of Liberty Steel's Speciality Steel UK (SSUK) arm, which would involve Mr Gupta emerging as the owner of the assets after shedding hundreds of millions of pounds of tax and other liabilities to creditors. Begbies Traynor, the accountancy firm, is understood to be working on efforts to progress the pre-pack deal. This weekend, Whitehall sources said that government officials had stepped up planning for the collapse of SSUK if an already-deferred winding-up petition scheduled to be heard next Wednesday is approved. If that were to happen, SSUK would be likely to enter compulsory liquidation within days, with a special manager appointed by the Official Receiver to run the operations. Mr Gupta's UK business operates steel plants at Sheffield and Rotherham in South Yorkshire, with a combined workforce of more than 1,400 people. Sources close to Mr Gupta could yet secure a further adjournment of the winding-up petition to buy him additional breathing space from creditors. A connected pre-pack risks stiff opposition from Liberty Steel's creditors, which include HM Revenue and Customs. UBS, the investment bank which rescued Credit Suisse, a major backer of the collapsed finance firm Greensill Capital - which itself had a multibillion dollar exposure to Liberty Steel's parent, GFG Alliance - is also a creditor of the company. Grant Thornton, the accountancy firm handling Greensill's administration, is also watching the legal proceedings with interest. On Saturday, a Liberty Steel spokesperson said: "Discussions are ongoing to finalise options for SSUK. "We remain committed to identifying a solution that preserves electric arc furnace steelmaking in the UK-a critical national capability supporting strategic supply chains. "We continue to work towards an outcome that best serves the interests of creditors, employees, and the broader community." Last month, The Guardian reported that Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, was monitoring events at Liberty Steel's SSUK arm, and had not ruled out stepping in to provide support to the company. Such a move is still thought to be an option, although it is not said to be imminent. The Department for Business and Trade has been contacted for comment. It has previously said: "We continue to closely monitor developments around Liberty Steel, including any public hearings, which are a matter for the company. "It is for Liberty to manage commercial decisions on the future of its companies, and we hope it succeeds with its plans to continue on a sustainable basis." Wednesday's winding-up petition was filed by Harsco Metals Group, a supplier of materials and labour to SSUK, and is said to be supported by other trade creditors. Mr Reynolds has already orchestrated the rescue of British Steel, the Scunthorpe-based steelmaker, after failing to reach a government aid deal with Jingye Group, the company's Chinese owner. Jingye had been preparing to permanently close Scunthorpe's remaining blast furnaces, prompting Mr Reynolds to step in and seize control of the company in April. The government has yet to make a decision to formally nationalise British Steel, although that is anticipated in the autumn. Tata Steel, the owner of Britain's biggest steelworks at Port Talbot, has agreed a £500m government grant to build an electric arc furnace capable of manufacturing greener steel. Other parts of Mr Gupta's empire have been showing signs of financial stress for years. The Financial Times reported in May that he was preparing to call in administrators to oversee the insolvency of Liberty Commodities. Separately, HMRC filed a winding-up petition against Liberty Pipes, another subsidiary, earlier this month, The Guardian reported. Mr Gupta is said to have explored whether he could persuade the government to step in and support SSUK using the legislation enacted to take control of British Steel's operations. Whitehall insiders told Sky News in May that Mr Gupta's overtures had been rebuffed. He had previously sought government aid during the pandemic but that plea was also rejected by ministers. SSUK, which also operates from a site in Bolton, Lancashire, makes highly engineered steel products for use in sectors such as aerospace, automotive and oil and gas. The company said earlier this year that it had invested nearly £200m in the last five years into the UK steel industry, but had faced "significant challenges due to soaring energy costs and an over-reliance on cheap imports, negatively impacting the performance of all UK steel companies".
Times
22 minutes ago
- Times
What happened when we let Times readers bet $10,000 on stocks
If you could go back in time to the day of the 2024 US election — armed with $10,000 and everything you know now — how much money could you make in the stock market? That is the challenge we set Times readers last week. Buy and sell any stock in the S&P 500 or the FTSE 100 and jump forward in time, watching how the actions of the Trump administration have affected global markets. You can play it here. So, how did readers get on as stock market traders? The average player managed to turn their $10,000 investment into about $14,000 over the eight simulated months, meaning that they generated $4,000 profit — a return of 40 per cent. This is a pretty good return, even if readers knew exactly what would happen: $10,000 invested in the S&P 500 would have returned $10,787, and the same in the FTSE 100 would have resulted in $11,095 — although $10,000 in bitcoin, turning into $16,931, would have beaten the lot. Trump's tariffs resulted in a frenzy of trading, helping Barclays to a 23 per cent jump in pre-tax profits in the first half of the year. There are, of course, some objectively 'better' stocks to pick. The US AI firm Palantir, co-founded by the Trump ally Peter Thiel, has more than tripled its value since the election. Other US AI firms and computer chip manufacturers (such as Super Micro Computer Inc and Jabil Inc) have also experienced strong growth, as well as companies in AI adjacent sectors, particularly energy stocks such as the General Electrics power spin-off GE Vernova Inc, which has benefited from increased demand from AI data centres. • The cheap and easy way to invest (without the risk) A significant number of readers wisely put all their money into Palantir, yielding returns of 200 per cent. But the highest profits were for those who traded repeatedly at optimum times. Only two players turned their $10,000 into more than $100,000; at the time of writing, the top score was an eye-watering $441,681. The highest possible score, buying the best performing stock day after day, was well over a trillion dollars. Compounding returns, to paraphrase Albert Einstein, really are the eighth wonder of the world. For data privacy reasons, we don't know which stocks the top performer picked. However, on average, those who played did not opt for high-risk, high-reward US tech stocks. In fact, most readers put their money into recognisable UK companies that had a track record of doing well. Readers rightly focused on UK defence stocks such as Rolls-Royce, BAE and also Babcock, the best performing FTSE 100 company during the period. All those stocks boomed after Trump's realignment of global defence. • Bull or bear? Find out what kind of investor you are Other top performers picked out by readers included Airtel Africa, International Airlines Group (which owns British Airways) and the mining firm Fresnillo. For the FTSE at least, readers had a good sense of where the gains have been, with most of the ten best-performing stocks over the period being in the most-bought list. The above looks at which stocks had the most money invested. But the list of stocks that were bought and sold the most — that is, with the highest number of trades — shows a preference towards US growth firms. Top of this list is Coinbase, the cryptocurrency exchange, and Elon Musk's Tesla, both of which have share prices inherently tied to unpredictable and volatile entities. Readers also explored options with oil and steel stocks. Due to tariff changes, these companies were particularly volatile. Many readers bought BP, others looked at Chevron or the US steel manufacturer Steel Dynamics. There were good profits to be had with all these, but you'd need to buy and sell at specific times to really make a good profit. • I want to invest in Europe's comeback. Where do I start? These lists also feature unexpected appearances from 3M, 3i Group, AES Corporation and APA Corporation. Theses companies didn't perform particularly well over the period and their inclusion is likely to be due to their names appearing at the top alphabetically, rather than being selected as part of a broader investment strategy.
Daily Mail
22 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Our wine expert's pick of the best Portuguese red wines, from £8
Daily Mail journalists select and curate the products that feature on our site. If you make a purchase via links on this page we will earn commission - learn more I've tasted some excellent supermarket Portuguese offerings this summer – none of that overly extracted, rustic, hot-alcohol feel. One of my choices is just 11%: fresh and vibrant, showing the diversity of reds from this country. My selections also highlight the good wines still found at under £10. With this price category shrinking due to yet more duty and tax rises, it's a pleasure to share quality bottles that are wallet-friendly, too. Ramos Family Reserva Tinto 2023 (13.5%), £11, Morrisons . £11.00 Shop Sedoso Douro 2022 (11%), £8.95, Co-op. This one is lower in alcohol, silky in texture (with cranberry notes) and surprisingly versatile: it even works with salmon and other fish. Pop in the fridge for 20 minutes to enhance its freshness. £8.95 Shop
