Sandals over heels? How Barbie helped boost sales of one footwear brand

At one point in Greta Gerwig's film, Barbie (played by Margot Robbie) must choose between Birkenstock sandals and high-heeled pumps. Photo: AFP

Since the release of the Barbie film, pink has invaded stores all over the world.

And Greta Gerwig's comedy hasn't just boosted clothing sales, but also shoe sales, and particularly those of the famous Birkenstock sandals.

The brand even saw its value soar ahead of its IPO.

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In the Barbie film, the iconic doll played by Margot Robbie must choose between a pair of pink high-heeled pumps and a pair of Birkenstock sandals to go discover the real world.

And that's all it took for the latter shoe to suddenly become a must-have footwear.

While several ready-to-wear brands have released collections featuring pink in honour of the latest film by Gerwig, the German brand is capitalising on its cinematic success.

Thanks to its big-screen exposure, sales have increased, reports Bloomberg News.

Indeed, the news agency states that "L Catterton [the brand's main owner] is set to launch an initial public offering of Birkenstock as soon as September that may value the iconic footwear maker at more than US$8bil (RM36.5bil)," according to "people with knowledge of the matter".

The brand's valuation could even reach US$10bil (RM45.6bil), says Bloomberg News.

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According to Google Trends data, searches for "Birkenstock" peaked between July 9 and 15, prior to the film's US release (July 21). Still, the Birkenstock trend picks up every year as the warm weather approaches.

Birkenstock revenue rose by 29% to around €1.2bil (RM6bil) in 2022, with adjusted earnings of €394mil (RM1.9bil), Bloomberg News reports.