Lowa

Lowa has stood for tradition, innovation, fit and quality since 1923. LOWA is the market leader in the mountain and outdoor shoes segment in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and the Benelux countries. The impressive success story begins with the founding of the company by Lorenz Wagner in Jetzendorf near Munich in Bavaria. Initially, the company began with the production of oat shoes. The high quality of the purely handmade "Zwiegenähten" - a type of production from the mountains - made the first expansion of the company necessary at the end of the 1920s. A few years later, the first factory building is built. The foundations for further success are laid with mountaineering boots for mountain hunters and laced ski boots.

During the Korean crisis, material prices rise by up to 50% and leather becomes an object of speculation. In order to be able to work at all, LOWA has to buy expensive materials. When prices fall and unpaid invoices become due, the company becomes insolvent overnight. Lorenz Wagner died in 1953 and his daughter Berti and her husband Josef ("Sepp") Lederer took over the company, gradually expanding the product range in line with the founder's vision. The rapid entry into plastics technology sets innovative standards. One of the first polyurethane injection molding machines is put into operation. On the product side, the first Vulka soles are a groundbreaking innovation: they offer 100% moisture protection, cold insulation and dimensional stability. In 1972, Lowa once again sets innovative trends and develops ski boots with the so-called 'Air' system. This was an integrated, inflatable air cushion at the heel that offered a revolutionary fit and unusually good support. A decade later, the 'Trekker' model is launched on the market and marks the birth of trekking boots.

Under the new leadership of Werner Riethmann, further major milestones are achieved. With the LOWA 'Renegade GTX' model, the traditional Bavarian company is the first to succeed in placing a new revolutionary type of shoe (multi-purpose shoes) on the market, selling around 3 million pairs of this model to date. Lowa is of course also involved in top mountain sports and in recent years has promoted its own product range with the famous eight-thousander climbers Ralf Dujmovits, Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner and Hans Kammerlander, among others. In order to guarantee that all models have the necessary functionality, LOWA works very closely with the world's leading alpines and alpine organizations, who are constantly using the products in their activities and pass on important information to the LOWA developers through their feedback. In addition to the permanent optimization of technology, functions and design, the production site in Germany is an integral part of the company philosophy.

Today, LOWA is the market leader in the German-speaking countries and in the Benelux countries and is also continuously expanding its importance in the most important export markets of North America, Asia and Eastern Europe. The strategy of manufacturing 100% in Germany and Europe and relying on the Jetzendorf site is proving to be an unbroken model for success. Customers honor the combination of tradition and innovation and appreciate the functionality, quality and fit of LOWA shoes.