Net sales, in fact, were recorded at 1.31 billion euros, with earnings before tax arriving at 201 million euros (compared to 2017’s 184 million euros). These results become even more important which considering global retail’s current difficulties and ECCO’s outstanding results this past year, with a +10% rise in retail sales and +36% upswing in online sales, which included especially positive performances in North America and Asia. The Group is present with more than 2,250 flagship stores worldwide and in 14 thousand multibrand stores, with a workforce made up by 21,300 employees.
The story of ECCO first began in Denmark, where the company was founded in 1963 by Birte and Karl Toosbuy, making quality combined with the foot’s well-being its very own hallmark. It is exactly this attention to comfort that has always led the development of the brand on the market, with innovations like the Sculptured 65 line introduced in 2012, which uses direct injection technology that guarantees maximum comfort even when wearing 65mm heels. Otherwise, more recent innovations include the introduction of items like Apparition, a transparent and especially flexible cowhide that is easy to process but also resistant and waterproof. To date, ECCO remains a family-run company managed by the second generation, which owns and controls every aspect of the value supply chain, from the leathers to the production of the footwear, along with wholesale and retail activities.