ECCO
The shoe and leather company Birte and Karl Toosbuy founded in Bredebro in 1963, still owned by the family and making most of its shoes in its own factories.
- Founded
- 1963
- Founded by
- Birte and Karl Toosbuy
- Company
- ECCO Sko A/S
- Based in
- Bredebro
Why it is renowned
ECCO shoes and leather goods are sold in 101 countries.1 The first flagship store opened on Oxford Street in London in 1998.1 In February 2025 ECCO opened a flagship store in Mumbai, its fifth shop in India.2
The story
Karl Toosbuy, a trained shoemaker, and his wife Birte sold their home and moved to Bredebro in southwest Denmark, just north of the German border, to start their own shoe factory in 1963.3 Production later spread to Portugal, and under licence to Japan and Cyprus.1 ECCO now runs practically every step itself, from its own tanneries and shoe factories to wholesale and its shops.3 About 98 percent of its shoes come from its own factories in Portugal, Slovakia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and China.1 The Toosbuy family still owns the company, and Hanni Toosbuy chairs its board.1
What to know it by
- ECCO tanneriesIts own tanneries in the Netherlands, Thailand, Indonesia and China
- Futura1996Its research and design centre in Denmark
- Oxford Street flagship1998The first ECCO flagship store, in London
Pictures © ECCO Sko A/S, from group.ecco.com.
Sources
- ECCO - Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org, read 28 September 2026.
- ECCO opens flagship store in Mumbai, India - ECCO Group. group.ecco.com, read 28 September 2026.
- About us - ECCO Group. group.ecco.com, read 28 September 2026.
Last checked 28 September 2026, against the maker's own pages.