Dive Brief:
- Birkenstock’s efforts to build out manufacturing capacity globally are on track to support its goal of 10% annual unit growth under a three-year plan through 2027, executives said on an Aug. 13 earnings call
- The plans include an enlarged plant in fiscal 2026 and a refitted one in fiscal 2027, both in Germany, with another factory buildout possible, according to a January Capital Markets Day presentation. A Portugal factory extension is also slated to open in fiscal 2027.
- "We are on track to deliver 10% unit growth, as we've said at our Capital Markets Day, and the build-out of the entire manufacturing network," CFO Ivica Krolo said on the call, adding that work in Wittichenau and Görlitz, Germany, and Arouca, Portugal, is progressing as planned.
Dive Insight:
Birkenstock outlined plans in March 2024 to double production capacity over three years while keeping nearly all production in-house across seven German factories and the component plant in Portugal.
"We are resilient to supply chain risks and shocks," Jakub Nachtigall, VP of operational excellence, said in January, referring to the manufacturing network. "We are resilient to, also, changes in customer demand."
The plans also called for consolidating the company’s warehouse footprint into fewer, larger facilities to scale direct shipments to stores in Europe, the Americas and eventually the Asia-Pacific region, Nachtigall said in January. The company was also seeking an APAC regional hub to replenish new stores.
Manufacturers across several sectors have recently moved to bolster manufacturing and distribution networks. Heavy equipment maker Deere & Co. said in January it plans to open an Indiana distribution center and a North Carolina manufacturing campus within a year, while furniture maker La-Z-Boy nears completion of the Midwest and Eastern hubs of a multiyear distribution overhaul.
