It might be a short holiday week, but we’re packing as many profit opportunities as we can into a few short days, bringing you the companies, brands, and products that are winning over consumers in 2023… and setting investors up for a profitable 2024.
Three companies leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to boost holiday sales…
Two beauty brands capitalizing on the skincare craze with this year’s favorite stocking stuffers…
And one rising star stock on the cusp of a new growth cycle, with today’s final addition to our ultimate holiday stock watchlist.
We’re talking about a shoemaker that’s been synonymous with comfort for – get this – 250 years. (You read that right: two and a half centuries.)
These shoes didn’t even make their way to America until 1966. But their ultra-comfy footbeds quickly caught fire with consumers.
The brand’s been through its fair share of ups and downs in the decades since, as any centuries-old institution might.
But the social media era is breathing new life into this classic brand, whose line of sandals, clogs, slides, and sneaks will surely be among year’s most coveted holiday gifts.
LikeFolio data reveals consumer buzz around this company surging 63% year-over-year, handily outpacing its comfy footwear peers.
And thanks to a recent IPO, you can now own a piece of this consumer favorite today…
After 250 Years, Birkenstock Is the “It” Brand to Beat
Most folks will recognize Birkenstock (BIRK) for its classic styles like the Arizona sandal (notoriously styled with socks by dads everywhere) and the Boston clog (a staple on college campuses).
The company’s namesake and founder, a German cobbler named Johann Adam Birkenstock, kept it in the family. It stayed there until 2021, when a private equity firm took a majority stake and led the company to its IPO in October of this year.
The market’s reaction to BIRK’s IPO was subdued. That’s been the case for most IPOs in recent memory.
But the company’s strong heritage and loyal customer base may present a promising opportunity for investors…
An Infinitely Scalable Foundation
Let’s start with what makes Birkenstock, well, Birkenstock. A 250-year-old company, started by a cobbler, must know how to make a great shoe. And that’s the foundation of Birkenstock’s success.
Birkenstock leverages a single footbed for all of its product silhouettes – of which there are over 700.
This allows the company to quickly pivot into and out of the accelerating fashion cycle while providing a consistent comfort experience for consumers.
Some 80% of Birkenstock’s core silhouettes – as in, its classic products that have been in the market for 40-plus years – make up about 75% of the company’s revenue.
Newer silhouettes introduced since 2017, like the Bend sneakers (seen below), made up nine of the top 20 products sold last year, making for a nice mix of old-school and new-school revenue streams.
This approach is working.
With a 73% Consumer Happiness level, Birkenstock is well ahead of comfortable footwear peers like Crocs (CROX), the Deckers-owned (DECK) UGG brand, and the Nike-owned (NKE) Converse sneaker brand when it comes to positive sentiment.
Birkenstock’s high Consumer Happiness has remained stable even during a massive period of brand growth, which is a testament to the brand’s quality.
Folks rave about how comfortable the shoes are – and well worth the price tag.
From Hippie Shoe to High-Fashion Phenomenon
Now, let’s address the elephant in the room: Birkenstock got a reputation for being a “hippie” shoe back in the 1960s and ‘70s that proved hard to shake.
But the company got wise – and in the 2010s started teaming up with high-fashion designers that helped take Birkenstocks from granola to couture over the last two decades.
Unique collaborations with luxury brands such as Dior, Manolo Blahnik, and Valentino enhanced the brand’s newfound luxury perception and opened doors to new fashion-minded customers.
Heck, “Birks” even made a cameo in the 2023 Barbie film released earlier this year – the highest-grossing film of 2023 – solidifying the brand’s place in the cultural zeitgeist.
You can now find a whole line of pink “Barbiecore” Birkenstocks to choose from.
Word-of-Mouth Wonder
Word-of-mouth is like the ultimate secret to a brand’s success. A whopping 92% of consumers trust their friend’s and family’s opinions over any other kind of advertising, according to Nielsen. And it costs virtually nothing.
Birkenstock has mastered this marketing strategy.
Over 60% of consumers learn about Birkenstock through word of mouth – meaning they’re hearing about the Birkenstock brand from friends, family, acquaintances, or on social media.
In fact, according to Birkenstock, approximately 90% of buyers are acquired through “unpaid channels.”
To leverage this advantageous position, the company attends and creates brand “activation” events, generates its own media buzz, and aims to create “trends within the brand.”
For example, it recently hosted an “immersive” popup event at Lakmé Fashion Week in India (another notch in its luxury belt).
This savvy strategy has paid off.
Birkenstock brand mentions are surging 63% year-over-year:
And while that’s somewhat boosted by chatter related to its IPO, web data supports elevated interest from consumers.
Visits are currently rising 25% on a year-over-year basis:
Room for Growth
Even after 250 years, Birkenstock has plenty of future growth opportunities to capitalize on. The company services over 90 countries, yet the Birkenstock.com site caters to only one-third of that global footprint.
It also has opportunities to expand into new product categories like closed-toe shoes, orthopedics, and professional footwear, as well as amping up its direct-to-consumer (DTC) strategy.
With DTC sales less than 40% of total sales, there is significant room to foster stronger DTC relationships and generate higher-margin DTC revenue.
And Let’s Not Forget: The Seasonal Sales Booster
It’s Black Friday, which means an estimated 132 million Americans are getting out their wallets to spend as much as $60 billion between today and Cyber Monday.
Birkenstock is ready for the rush with this season’s hottest holiday gifts – cozy wool slippers, shearling-lined clogs, and socks to stuff the stockings, plus a whole new lineup of cold-weather kicks.
While a pair of Birkenstock’s might still cost you a pretty penny, we’re running a Black Friday flash sale of our own with an unbeatable new member discount.
It works like this: Those who go here now and join LikeFolio Investor THIS WEEKEND will get a full year of real-time trade alerts and stock picks for just $19.
But you have to act fast because this offer closes Monday at midnight.
Go here now to claim the deal.
It could be your single best opportunity to join all year.
Until next time,
Andy Swan
Founder, LikeFolio