ECCO
{{short description|Danish shoe manufacturer}}
{{other uses|Ecco (disambiguation)}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{third-party|date=March 2015}}
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{{Infobox company
| name = ECCO Sko A/S
| logo = Ecco Vancho.svg
| logo_size = 195px
| type = Aktieselskab
| slogan =
| foundation = {{start date and age|1963|4|1|df=yes}} (as A/S Bredebro Skofabrik)
| founder = Karl Toosbuy
| location = Bredebro, Denmark
| key_people = {{ubl|Thomas Gøgsig (CEO)|Hanni Toosbuy (Chairman)}}
| num_employees = 21,434 (2020)
| products = Shoes, leather, and accessories
| revenue = {{€|1.09 billion|link=yes}} (2020){{cite web|title=ECCO Annual Report 2020 | url=http://media.ecco.com/GroupCommunication/ecco-annual-report-2020|publisher=ECCO Sko A/S}}
| net_income = {{€|23.14 million}} (2020)
| assets = {{€|1.32 billion}} (2020)
| homepage = {{URL|https://global.ecco.com/}}
}}
File:Ecco Cage Pro golf shoe.gif
File:OutDoor 2018, Friedrichshafen (1X7A0464).jpg
File:Ecco, 261 Oxford Street, London, March 2016 01.jpg, London, 2016]]
ECCO Sko A/S is a Danish shoe and leather accessories manufacturer founded in 1963 by Karl Toosbuy, in Bredebro, Denmark. ECCO opened its first retail store in Denmark in 1982. ECCO is family-owned and employs 21,300 people worldwide, with product sales in 101 countries from over 2,250 shops and more than 14,000 sales points.{{cn|date=September 2021}}
History
{{unreferenced section|date=November 2016}}
ECCO was established in 1963 by Karl Toosbuy in the small town of Bredebro in southern Denmark. Throughout the 1980s, the company expanded its operations internationally. By 1982, sales reached 1 million pairs of shoes annually. In order to accommodate the increasing demand, additional production was established in Portugal, and under license in Japan and Cyprus.{{cite book|last=Wilson|first=Rodney|title=Cyprus and the International Economy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UsWwCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA10|access-date=22 February 2018|date=18 June 1992|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK|isbn=978-1-349-12186-1|page=10}}
ECCO built its own research and design center, named "Futura", in Denmark in 1996, since 2009 Portugal is the R&D center of ECCO and opened its own beamhouse in Indonesia and tannery in Thailand a few years later. In 1998 the first flagship retail store opened on Oxford Street, in London. By 2000, ECCO owned every step of the production process, from design and leather production to branded retail sales.
Production
ECCO owns tanneries in the Netherlands, Thailand, Indonesia and China. ECCO’s tanneries are among the leading manufacturers of leather to the fashion, sports, and car industries.{{cite web |url=http://www.ecco.com/downloads/ECCO_annual_report_2006_UK.pdf |title=ECCO Annual Report 2006 |access-date=2010-08-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710165455/http://www.ecco.com/downloads/ECCO_annual_report_2006_UK.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-10 }} ECCO has engaged in a research program to reduce the environmental impact of the tanning process.
Approximately 98% of ECCO's shoes are produced in its own shoe factories in Portugal, Slovakia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and China, and some under licence in India.
International
ECCO shoes and leather goods are sold in 101 countries. The company has its operations into markets in Asia and in Eastern and Central Europe, Canada, South America, and the United States. Their products are sold through more than 6,250 mono-brand stores, as well as independent retailers and online sales.{{cite news|last1=Mamun|first1=Jasan|title=ECCO schoenen:Altijd het goedkoopste & Altijd gratis verzending|url=http://merkschoenenwinkel.nl/|access-date=4 November 2016|work=merkschoenenwinkel.nl|date=5 June 2010}}
Controversies
In 1998, ECCO faced problems with a large quantity of shoes. Due to a production fault involving the composition of sole material – hydrolysis of the molded polyurethane – the soles disintegrated after only one to five years.{{Cite web|url=http://www.phlmetropolis.com/2011/11/the-case-of-the-crumbling-shoes.php|title=The Case of the Crumbling Shoes|website=www.phlmetropolis.com}} After discovering the source of the problem, ECCO changed the composition of its sole material.{{citation needed|date=January 2018}}
In 2016 Adidas filed a trademark suit against ECCO in American courts.{{Cite web |last=Bell |first=Jennie |date=2016-04-22 |title=Adidas Sues Ecco Over Trademark Infringement |url=https://footwearnews.com/2016/focus/athletic-outdoor/adidas-ecco-lawsuit-three-stripe-copyright-infringement-214443/ |access-date=2022-08-28 |website=Footwear News |language=en-US}} However, in 2018, Adidas voluntarily dismissed its claims.{{cite news |title=best climbing shoes |url=https://gaming-electronics.com/}}{{Cite web |date=October 16, 2019 |title=From Forever 21 to FC Barcelona, a Look at adidas' History of 3-Stripe Legal Fights |url=https://www.thefashionlaw.com/from-forever-21-to-fc-barcelona-a-look-at-adidas-history-of-3-stripe-legal-fights/}}
In March 2022, ECCO decided to continue its operations in Russia despite the invasion of Ukraine and heavy sanctions directed towards Russia by Western nations.{{Cite web |last=Olesen |first=Jesper |date=2022-03-23 |title=Ecco-topchef om at blive i Rusland: Den hidtil sværeste beslutning i min karriere |url=https://finans.dk/erhverv/ECE13853673/eccos-topchef-panos-mytaros-om-at-blive-i-rusland-den-hidtil-svaereste-beslutning-i-min-karriere/ |access-date=2022-04-03 |website=FINANS |language=da}} As a consequence, ECCO lost its 30 year long status as purveyor to the Danish royal family.(in Danish) [https://nyheder.tv2.dk/samfund/2022-07-06-ecco-mister-retten-til-at-kalde-sig-kongelig-hofleverandor Ecco mister retten til at kalde sig Kongelig Hofleverandør] 6 July 2022
References
External links
{{commons category|Ecco}}
- {{official|https://global.ecco.com/}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ecco}}
Category:Shoe companies of Denmark
Category:Danish companies established in 1963
Category:Multinational companies headquartered in Denmark