ECCO History
Always looking to the future

ECCO was founded in 1963 when Birthe and Karl Toosbuy sold all their possessions and moved to the rural village of Bredebro in Denmark. From its humble origins as a single factory building, ECCO soon began to grow fuelled by a pioneering spirit and a determination to make shoes that would follow the foot instead of the other way round.

Always looking to the future, ECCO led the way--fusing innovative technology, European design and traditional craftsmanship with a profound understanding of the human foot and how it works.  Before long, ECCO was moving into new markets around the world and putting up new factories in Bredebro.  The company produced stunning sellers such as the shoe called Joke, which was launched in 1978 and further refining its innovative direct injection method for creating flexible durable soles.  ECCO was now known around the world for delivering unparalleled comfort in footwear.

The 1980s and 90s saw dramatic changes in ECCO collections including kids’ footwear and dress shoes. The company also led the way in using high-tech fabrics by using GORETEX membranes for enhancing a shoe’s breathability and resistance to the elements. A new performance line mixed comfort and durability with performance enhancing properties to let people walk or run or climb almost anywhere.

At the dawn of the twenty-first century, ECCO has never been more ambitious, bucking convention with a stunning line of high fashion top performing golf shoes.  Today ECCO is a truly international company with headquarters in Bredebro, tanneries and production facilities in Portugal, Indonesia, Thailand, Holland, Slovakia and China, and sales in countries the world over.

For nearly half a century our pioneering spirit and deep commitment to our mission have kept ECCO ahead of the game leading the way for the shoe industry. It is this same passion for challenging assumptions, driving innovation and relentlessly pursuing perfection that will fuel ECCO’s success in the future. Like every great idea and every bold endeavour, ECCO was created from next to nothing, the brainchild of a born visionary.  ECCO came from nowhere to fill a void. To accomplish something extraordinary by meeting a basic human need, ECCO set out to start with the foot and this turned the foot industry upside down.

When Karl Toosbuy died in 2004, ECCO was handed over to Hanni Toosbuy Kasprzak who continued on the supervisory board while her husband, Dieter Kasprzak, took over as president on the management board.  Today, Karl Toosbuy would still be proud of the care put into each one of the millions of ECCO shoes that step out each year onto the streets of the world, just as proud as he was of the first pair he handled in his initial factory in Bredebro.


ECCO Tradition
Comfort makes us work

Every good idea leaves its mark.  Like the one Karl Toosbuy had in 1963.  In 1963 Karl Toosbuy founded the company we know today creating shoes with the utmost comfort you can imagine.  Karl Toosbuy’s philosophy was that all design should start with the foot and let the foot shape the shoe – not the other way around.  ECCO’s concept of comfort is the best in the world because we as the only manufacturer in the world control the entire value chain from cow to shoe.

Since this day, ECCO has produced more than 200,000,000 pairs of shoes.  And have dedicated ourselves to one definite thing: moving you.  In a way which is totally unique. Because no other shoes combine traditional craftsmanship and innovative design with flexibility and comfort like ECCO shoes.  This not only requires more in-depth knowledge of all types of material for the production; but also means we are constantly honing and refining our production methods.

And we’ve been doing this for almost 45 years.  Forty five years during which we’ve remained hard on the heels of the future – every single day.  Because this is the only way to create the innovative concepts and new technologies which will meet the highest of demands.  The demands of your feet.

The tiniest of details on ECCO shoes can change an entire life. Incredible? But true!