Birkenstock, a maker of comfortable but decidedly outdated sandals, is jumping on the bed with the king of luxury products
Birkenstock announced on Friday that it will sell a majority stake in its business to L Catteron, a private equity firm supported by LVMH, which owns sophisticated fashion brands like Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior.
French billionaire and head of LVMH, Bernard Arnault, also participates in the deal, as does the investment fund of the Financiere Agache family. The terms of the sale have not been released, but it is said to value the German family footwear business at $ 4.85 billion.
Although the clumsy sandal maker may not seem like an obvious choice for LVMH, the investment comes at a time when the luxury product maker seeks to increase its appeal among young people.
Moet Hennessy owner said this week that he acquired a 50 percent stake in Jay Z’s Armand de Brignac champagne brand.
And although she placed her 2019 contract with Rihanna to create fashion for Fenty “pending better conditions”, L Catterton took a stake in the pop singer’s lingerie line.
Birkenstock has a large following that only grew last year, in which it generated record sales, the company said.
The deal is aimed at helping Birkenstock to expand to China and India, as well as expanding its e-commerce business, the company said in a statement.
Relatives of the founding family, brothers Alex and Christian Birkenstock, will remain with the company along with Birkenstock’s management, the company said.
“Birkenstock was founded almost 250 years ago and has grown to become one of the few iconic brands in the shoe industry. We really appreciate brands with this long heritage, ”said Arnault in a statement.
Birkenstock “is a brand that defines a category and is its classic and iconic brand,” Richard Kestenbaum, a partner at Triangle Capital, told The Post. “This must be attractive to LVMH and the way they think about brands, even if it is not strictly luxury as it is generally defined.”