Birkenstock Holdings Ltd (BIRK)

[TRUISM]

Birkenstock Investing €15 Million In Portugal
By TPN/Lusa, in News, Portugal, Business, Porto & North · 1 hour ago
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German footwear brand Birkenstock is investing 15 million euros in Arouca to operate a production unit there with more than 600 direct jobs being created.

According to data from the Municipal Council of the district of Aveiro, the German multinational acquired as a subsidiary the single-person company S&CC Portugal, which had already been operating in the sector since 2003, and is next to the current facilities of the firm that it is building a new unit, 10 times larger in size.

The new factory should be completed by December 2024 and will occupy 13,000 square meters in the São Domingos Industrial Zone, involving a workforce that, by 2025, should reach 600 to 650 direct jobs.

For the mayor of Arouca, Margarida Belém, “the attraction of this foreign direct investment by the Birkenstock economic group results from several competitive factors in the country, the region and the municipality”.

The socialist mayor explains: “Arouca is today an active part of an ecosystem of innovation and business development based on the areas of intelligent specialization in its region, among which creativity and the symbolic capital of fashion stand out – which includes footwear” .

Considering the reputation of the brand which, according to Fortune and Forbes magazines, in 2022 it sold more than 30 million pairs of shoes to around 100 countries, Margarida Belém expects from Birkenstock “a commitment to differentiation, quality and knowledge”, of which should result in “significant direct and indirect impacts (for the municipality) such as the creation of new jobs, population retention, attraction of new residents and boosting added value”.

The mayor also highlights that the investment of 15 million euros is also associated with the commitment that the German multinational demonstrates “an attitude of social and environmental responsibility, which, in conjunction with current public policies, will certainly contribute positively to the local and regional development dynamics”.

According to an internal Birkenstock publication that Lusa had access to, the new factory will have a leisure area on the roof and a kindergarten prepared to accommodate 50 children. The company also intends to “provide free transport to employees, so that they can go to work without having to use their cars”.