BIRKENSTOCK Receives Award as Brand of the Year and Wins Category for Excellence in Design Sandals

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Mar 05, 2018, 09:00 ET

NEUSTADT (WIED), Germany and NEW YORK, March 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today the Footwear Plus magazine announced the winners of the 19^th annual Plus Awards. As in the previous year, BIRKENSTOCK has been awarded twice: this time Germany's original global comfort shoe brand has been named as "Brand of the Year" and for the second consecutive year has won the award for "Excellence in Design Sandals". Created by Footwear Plus, the industry's leading fashion trade magazine for nearly 30 years, the annual Plus Awards are the only accolades determined by the votes of industry members and consumers. The winners are determined by thousands of online voters within and outside the industry who could place online votes from November 29 to December 31, 2017. The prizes are co-sponsored by the Fashion Footwear Association of New York (FFANY) and Jones & Vining.

"We are proud to be recognized with not one, but two Plus Awards – especially Brand of the Year. To be recognized by the industry for what we are accomplishing is very satisfying. In the year ahead, we will take Birkenstock to an even higher level as we focus on serving our retail partners and our consumers with more innovative product and great service," said David Kahan, BIRKENSTOCK Americas CEO.

"Congratulations to Birkenstock on winning the Plus Award for excellence in the Sandals and prestigious Brand of the Year categories," said Greg Dutter, Editorial Director of Footwear Plus. "The legendary brand continued to fire on all cylinders in 2017: offering exciting designs and innovative retail concepts as well as positioning itself for solid growth in the years ahead. In a time of great industry upheaval, BIRKENSTOCK has been a brand its retail partners can bank on," added Greg Dutter, Footwear Plus Editorial Director.

BIRKENSTOCK has already been honored with six Plus Awards in total, including the recent accolades. The category "Excellence in Design Women's Comfort" for instance, was granted to the German heritage brand for the three years in a row from 2014 to 2016.

The award-winning Footwear Plus magazine is the leading B-2-B fashion publication of the footwear industry. In a world of instant messages, texting, daily e-mail blasts, junk mail, 24-hour news outlets and tickers across the bottom of countless TV channels, Footwear Plus is commonly being valued as a magazine in the truest sense of the format: in-depth, comprehensive and analytical, not to mention beautiful. Industry leaders rely on Footwear Plus to educate, inform, provoke and inspire.

About BIRKENSTOCK

BIRKENSTOCK is a global footwear brand that stands for quality, function, and all-round well-being. With more than 3,800 employees worldwide, this traditional, sixth-generation family-run business is also one of the German footwear industry's biggest employers. The company's historic roots can be traced as far back as 1774. BIRKENSTOCK was already using the term "footbed" in the 1930s, giving it the meaning which is commonly understood by consumers all over the world to this day – as a synonym for outstanding comfort when walking and standing. By the early 1970s, BIRKENSTOCK had become a global player. Manufactured in Germany, the sandals are now sold in more than 100 countries on all continents. BIRKENSTOCK also has a growing range of enclosed shoes, children's shoes, and occupational footwear, as well as specialist products for orthopedic retailers, socks, bags, and belts. In 2017, BIRKENSTOCK added sleep systems and natural cosmetics (BIRKENSTOCK NATURAL SKIN CARE) to its portfolio of products. The company is headquartered in Neustadt (Wied). BIRKENSTOCK has ten sites in Germany, in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse, Bavaria, and Saxony. The long-standing family-owned enterprise also operates its own sales offices in the United States, Brazil, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Denmark, Slovakia, Spain, and the United Kingdom.