Markus Bensberg, co-CEO, Birkenstock is quitting the German footwear company, leaving Oliver Reichert as sole CEO, effective immediately.
As per Fashion Netowrk, Bensberg first joined Birkenstock in February 1991,He has served in a range of different roles at the footwear maker over the last three decades, particularly in the areas of sales and product development. The executive has been co-CEO in partnership with Reichert since 2012.
Bensberg’s departure follows on the heels of Franco-American private equity firm L Catterton’s acquisition of a majority stake in Birkenstock in partnership with Bernard Arnault’s holding company, FinancièreAgache, earlier this month. Details of the transaction were not revealed.
According to figures made available by the company, Birkenstock achieved sales of approximately 720 million euros and earnings of around 130 million euros in 2019. Despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which resulted in the temporary closure of the company’s factories for two months, Birkenstock’s 2020 revenue and profit were roughly in line with those of the prior year.
