ECCO was founded in 1963 when Birte 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 stunnings 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 and tanneries and production facilities in Portugal, Indonesia, Thailand, Holland, Slovakia and China - and sales in countries the world over.
When Karl Toosbuy passed away 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.