High-end sandal manufacturer Birkenstock has revealed plans to invest around €100 million in its industrial expansion. As per a Fashion Network report, Birkenstock plans to invest around € 50 million in the modernization of its largest factory, in Görlitz, east Saxony, which employs 1,900 people. The facility will principally manufacture sandals made of cork latex. The company will also invest a further €50 million euros in the construction of a new factory focused on the production of synthetic sandals.

The company is examining three or four possible sites in eastern Germany and north Bavaria for its new factory, which will initially create 400 jobs, before expanding to employ 1,000 people. Production in the factory is set to start in the new factory in 2023. In Rhineland-Palatinate, the company already has a factory in Sankt Katharinen and a logistics centre in Vettelschoß.

Founded in 1774, Birkenstock currently employs approximately 5,500 people around the world. In 2019, the company achieved revenue of around €720 million and net income of €130 million. The company reportedly generated a similar level of revenue in 2020, despite two months of factory closures.