How did a once-frumpy comfort sandal become a billion-dollar cultural icon? In this episode, we unpack the Birkenstock phenomenon — from its unlikely star turn in the Barbie movie to its meteoric rise among Gen Z’s post-pandemic craving for effortless comfort. We explore how a shoe once synonymous with “practical and plain” doubled its revenues, landed high-fashion collaborations, and strutted onto the New York Stock Exchange with a $1.5 billion IPO. But with limited production capacity and a customer base sensitive to rising prices, we ask: can Birkenstock stay cool without stepping outside what made it beloved in the first place?

https://www.economist.com/business/2023/10/12/why-young-consumers-love-birkenstocks