SITUATION Birkenstock is the most iconic brand in the comfort footwear category.  For years, Birkenstocks have been worn by young and old, trendy and hippie.    

CHALLENGE Birkenstock was challenged by an over grown product offering and an excessively large portfolio of sub-brands. The impact of which was made worse by a decline in the trend cycle for Birkenstocks.

WORK 18 months of work started with the development of the brand’s identity and strategy.  From there I led a consumer segmentation study that was then used to align their brand and product portfolio. Ultimately, the brand and product portfolio was reduced, from seven brands to four and 500 skus to 300.  The new branding and assortments were successfully piloted with specialty retailers and eventually rolled out across the business.