But it wasn't always known as a fashion staple. It was first worn in the US by hippies in the '60s and '70s.
Birkenstock, the shoe brand known for its comfortable cork-sole sandals, raised $1.48 billion in an initial public offering on Wednesday.
The German footwear company had been seeking a valuation as high as $9.2 billion, CNBC reported, but ended its first day of trading with a diluted value of $8.15 billion, according to Bloomberg.
The initial public offering is one more feat in Birkenstock's nearly 250-year history, which began with a family-run business that manufactured insoles. Decades later, the company's orthopedic shoes became a viral fashion trend. Most recently, Birkenstock landed a big-screen moment in the "Barbie" movie.
Here's how the shoe went from "ugly" hippie sandal to coveted fashion statement.
Birkenstock's history goes as far back as 1774
Birkenstock's logo is an upside down foot.
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Church records from the time identified a German cobbler named Johann Adam Birkenstock.
As an orthopedic business, Birkenstock featured designs that were rooted in function over form.
Birkenstock has store locations around the world.
Alain Jocard/AFP via Getty
In 1932, Konrad's son Carl created a training program for podiatry and specialty footwear, which was touted by physicians as the 'Carl Birkenstock system.'
Birkenstock began selling its shoes in the US in 1966
Margot Fraser is credited with bringing Birkenstock to the US.
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A German-American woman named Margot Fraser discovered the shoes and took them back to California. She sold the shoes in health-food stores, where they appealed to counterculture youths known as hippies.
That year, the brand, whose shoes had long been derided as unattractive, released a three-part video campaign with the New York Times called "Ugly for a Reason" to inform customers about foot health.
A screenshot from the company's video campaign.
T Brand via Birkenstock
In 2022, Birkenstock's customer demographic was 30% baby boomers and 31% millennials, according to its SEC filing.
In August, Birkenstock's owner announced plans for an initial public offering.
Birkenstock sought a valuation of up to $9.2 billion.
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The offering could value Birkenstock at more than $8 billion, Bloomberg reported.
About 90% of Birkenstock customers come through unpaid channels, according to a consumer survey conducted in May 2023 that was referenced in the filing. The top three sources of brand awareness were customers hearing about the brand from a friend, seeing someone wearing it, and growing up with it.
Last year, Birkenstock sold 30 million pairs of shoes and generated $1.3 billion in revenue.
Birkenstock sandals come in a variety of styles and colors.
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In September, Birkenstock made its IPO filing with the SEC. In the filing, the company said it sold approximately 30 million units in 2022, and it reported 2022 revenue of 1.2 billion euros, or about $1.27 billion at the current exchange rate.
The average Birkenstock customer in the US owns more than 3 pairs
The bottom of a Birkenstock shoe has a signature imprint.
Sebastian Gollnow/Getty
In the filing, Birkenstock reported that its average US customer owns 3.6 pairs of its shoes.
The company named a billionaire's son to its board of directors
Alexandre Arnault (left) is the son of billionaire Bernard Arnault.
Donato Sardella/Getty Images for Louis Vuitton
In an October filing, Birkenstock named Alexandre Arnault, the son of billionaire LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault, to the company's board of directors. Bernard Arnault backs the private equity firm L Catterton which owns a controlling stake in Birkenstock.
Birkenstock's IPO missed the mark — shares opened 11% below their offer price.
The Birkenstock team rings the bell at the New York Stock Exchange.
Richard Drew/AP
Birkenstock expected its stock to reach $46 per share, but shares opened at $41 when it began trading on the NYSE Wednesday. The company raised $1.48 billion in the initial public offering.
