Global footwear brand Birkenstock has made its retail debut in Queensland, coming off the back of the company’s acquisition of its Australian distributor in October last year.
The new store will be located within the Brisbane Arcade, joining more than 30 other brands across fashion, jewellery, lifestyle and food. This includes the likes of Sunglass Hut, Sacha Drake, Pandora, Koko Black and Astille.
Brisbane Arcade has been a heritage-listed building since 1924.
To mark the store opening, Birkenstock hosted an media event in the store earlier this month, inviting press, friends of the brand and partners for an exclusive first look at the new space. The event showcased archived pieces from Birkenstock.
The brand also launched a two-day public activation on Queen Street Mall, which included a claw machine and complimentary refreshments, alongside take-home vouchers, foot care products and tote bags.
The latest opening brings its total store count to four across Australia's East Coast. The new Brisbane CBD store is a partner store and operates independently, according to the Birkenstock website. The brand’s Sydney store is also a partner store, with the final two being run by the company itself.
This comes over four months after Birkenstock Holding plc signed a definitive agreement for the acquisition of its long-standing distributor Birkenstock Australia Pty. Ltd.
According to the overarching company, this acquisition should allow a seamless succession for the two founders of Birkenstock Australia – Marcel and Manuela Goerke.
Birkenstock Australia scaled since the 1990s to have around 60 employees and driving an annual revenue of $88.6 million in the year to June 30, 2025.
Birkenstock Australia has its headquarters in Melbourne. The company also operates an online shop, and maintains a distribution network of over 300 B2B partners.
Marcel Goerke will support the transition as managing director of Birkenstock Australia; he will report to Klaus Baumann, chief sales officer of the Birkenstock Group. The transaction is believed to have been finalised by the end of October 2025.