LOWA is a company with long tradition that has been based from the beginning in the Bavarian town of Jetzendorf. Over a period of nearly 100 years, the small shoemaking shop has become a global outdoor company that sells its products around the world.
LOWA was established in 1923 by LOrenz WAgner in the Bavarian town of Jetzendorf. Fun fact: The Wagner family was shaped by the idea of entrepreneurial spirit. All three brothers in the family established their own companies: Hans Wagner set up hanwag, and Adolf Wagner Hochland.
In addition to its headquarters in Jetzendorf, LOWA has branches in Switzerland, the United States, Italy and Slovakia. The company became part of the Tecnica Group of Italy in 1993.
The Tecnica Group holds a 80 percent stake in LOWA, and Werner Riethmann (Managing Director of LOWA) owns a 20 percent stake.
Today, LOWA sells about 3 million pairs of shoes around the world. If you arranged all of these shoes next to one another, you would end up with a line of about 1,200 kilometres, the length of the Alps (from east to west).
LOWA shoes are exported to 75 countries around the world today.
Turnover of the LOWA Group: Consolidated turnover of LOWA Sportschuhe GmbH, LOWA Schuhe AG and LOWA Boots LLC in millions of euros.
A slogan that describes the essence of the company: its commitment to achieving “simply more”.
LOWA Sportschuhe GmbH makes boots and shoes for the hiking, outdoor and everyday industries. What began in 1923 as a small start- up producing traditional handmade Bavarian Haferl shoes has developed over the years into an international company with a strong global reputation. The traditional boot and shoe maker prides itself on its commitment to quality and fit and is a market leader in Germany, Austria and Switzerland for hiking and outdoor footwear.
As a global outdoor company that is dedicated to its roots, we strive to achieve three goals at all times: the highest quality, perfect fit and innovation in every area.
This commitment is reflected in every aspect of our business and extends well beyond the boundaries of the company’s operations. We are driven by sustainable company growth, not short-term trends. Traditional values such as trust, honesty and respect shape our business. We apply these principles not only to our daily interactions with one another, but also to our business relationships.
LOWA is one of the founding members of cads e.V., an association of manufacturers and suppliers under the umbrella of the German Shoe Institute that seeks to prevent the use of harmful substances in shoes. All member companies have voluntarily committed themselves to meeting the deliberately demanding requirements of the cads e.V. guideline entitled “Catalogue of restricted substances in shoes”.
LOWA is a member of the European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA). This is an alliance of European outdoor companies that carry out worldwide nature-protection projects. LOWA works in such areas as reforestation projects.
Since 2008, LOWA has been certified in accordance with ISO 9001:2008, the international standard for quality management systems, and goes through an external audit every year. The certificate affirms that LOWA’s process procedures are clearly and transparently defined. Customer satisfaction is always our ultimate goal. This applies equally to both LOWA’s retailers and consumers. The audits conducted by the German Test and Research Institute for Footwear Production also focus on economic and social issues.
LOWA received ISO 9001:2015 certification in September 2017.
The ISO 9001 quality standard is the nationally and internationally most widespread and significant standard in quality management. It establishes the minimum requirements for internal systems that the individual company must fulfil. The aim is to meet the demands of the customer and to satisfy the quality requirements of the products and services.
The Association of the German Sporting Goods Industry (BSI), founded in 1910, is the business association for German manufacturers, wholesalers and importers of sports equipment.
LOWA is a member of the Association of the German Sporting Goods Industry and plays an active role in the outdoor and CSR working groups. The BSI working groups explore current industry issues and provide an opportunity to actively share experiences. Projects and studies are jointly organised.
The outdoor working group represents the interests of the outdoor industry within BSI. Its aim is to achieve sufficient advocacy of the outdoor sector within the sports equipment industry. Furthermore, it actively supports environmental protection and the sustainable preservation of the earth for generations to come.
The working group CSR is a multi-sectional BSI consortium in which BSI members from all sectors of the sports equipment industry can exchange thoughts on environmental protection, sustainability, social commitment and animal protection as well as work together to support CSR projects.
LOWA is a member of the European Outdoor Group (EOG). This association representing the interests of the European outdoor industry was established in 2003.
Sustainability is the central focus of EOG activities. The outdoor sector encourages its consumers to interact with nature in a responsible way and seeks means and ways of reducing its impact on the environment as much as possible without hampering performance.