Birkenstock Lands in Austin

Birkenstock opened its sixth company-owned retail store in the U.S. in Austin, Texas on Thursday.

Located at 1007 South Congress Avenue, Birkenstock’s new location offers the 250-year-old German footwear brand’s growing range of products for men, women and kids including sandals, clogs, sneakers, shoes, boots, and socks. The new store also features a range of digital services such as BOPIS (buy online pick up in store) and BORIS (buy online return in store).

“The opening in Austin furthers our commitment to scale the Birkenstock owned retail footprint in the United States and share the brand with our fans,” said David Kahan, president of Birkenstock Americas, in a statement.

For the grand opening day on Thursday, Birkenstock celebrated by bringing together local collaborators, partners and friends to toast the new location. Guests enjoyed an intimate in-store performance by local singer and songwriter Scott Ballew, also a member of the Texas Playboys team.

In line with the opening, Birkenstock Austin will also donate 10 percent of each sale to Space Flight Records, a local non-profit record label and partner of the Playboys. The group is committed to promoting and advancing the careers of developing musicians and recording artists.

Birkenstock’s new Austin store joins the footwear label’s other company-owned locations in Miami, Fla.; Brooklyn, N.Y.; SoHo, N.Y.; Venice Beach, Calif. and Larkspur, Calif.

In an interview with FN in April, Kahan expressed the importance of owned retail for the company.  “Our physical stores have been incredibly important. They’re great laboratories to learn from,” Kahan said at the time. “Our history is in true sit-and-fit environments. Having the ability to interact with our brand fans and share the energy of the product is incredible.”

Kahan told FN at the time of the interview that another store is coming later this year to Nashvile. “We’re following where people are living, working and shopping,” Kahan said. “It’s natural to be in growing cities where you have a younger demographic intersect with our brand. It’s not just about New York and L.A. Other cities are becoming hubs for fashion, innovation and creativity.”

In May, Birkenstock raised its outlook for the year after it reported record revenues for the second quarter of 2024. The results were driven by strong consumer demand across all regions, channels and categories.

In Q2, the footwear brand reported that net revenues rose 22 percent to 481 million euros. Birkenstock said it saw double-digit growth across all regions, including 21 percent growth in the Americas, 21 percent in Europe and 42 percent in Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMA). Direct-to-consumer revenue in the quarter increased 32 percent while wholesale revenue grew 20 percent in the period, propelled by high sell-through rates.