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2nd Biggest Shoe company in World (celebrating 50 years in business)

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Believe it or not, Danish footwear brand ECCO calls itself the second-biggest shoe manufacturer in the world. The company has produced more than 350 million pair since its founding in 1963.

This includes casual, dress, golf, running, and outdoor models, both boots and shoes, a few of which we’ve tested as of late at GearJunkie to interesting results. (See BIOM shoe represents ‘one of the weirdest footwear trends’.”)

ECCO then (1963) and now (modern storefront)

ECCO is noteworthy in that it is vertically integrated, owning everything from leather tanneries, to factories, to its high-end retail stores.

ECCO BIOM running shoe

This month marks the company’s 50th anniversary, and with it we decided to run through some stats on the history and current state of one of the most unique shoe companies on the planet. —Stephen Regenold

20,000: Worldwide employees

2: Rank, according to company, in worldwide footwear sales volume

1963: Year company founded in Denmark

50: Years in business

350 million: Pairs of shoes produced

4,000: Branded sales locations

94: Countries where ECCO is sold

1990: Year ECCO USA launched

5,500: Employees at a single factory complex in Indonesia

4: Rank among makers of golf shoes

220: $ price tag of ECCO BIOM A running shoe in 2010

210: Number of people who “touch” each ECCO shoe as it’s being made

—GearJunkie reviewed ECCO footwear in the post “Boot Test! Hike to High Falls in Iceland.”

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