Birkenstock Orthopädie GMBH & Co. KG, Vettelschoss, and BFS Inc., Novato, California, who have been trading partners for many years, have signed a new contract, concluding the founding of a new company. Birkenstock Distribution USA Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of BFS Inc and will be solely responsible for marketing Birkenstock products in the USA with effect from 1 October 2005.

The contract can be viewed as an adaptation to changed market requirements and the long-standing huge demand for Birkenstock products in the USA affecting the agreements reached on collaborations over the past decade. Alongside supplying the US Market from the Warehouse in Novato, California, the new contract provides for delivery programmes which will see specialist shops in the USA being supplied directly from the German logistics centre.