How many total Footwear Brands are there in Europe?

As of January 2026, Europe has 1700 active Footwear Brands.

How many Footwear Brands in Europe are funded?

As of January 2026, 181 companies have received funding in this sector.

What is the total funding raised by Footwear Brands in Europe?

Footwear Brands in Europe have collectively raised $1.18B in funding till date.

Who are the top investors in Footwear Brands in Europe?

The top investors in Footwear Brands in Europe by number of investments are Europa and Ministerstvo Hospodárstva Slovenskej Republiky.

Which is the highest funded Footwear Brands company in Europe?

As of January 2026, Christian Louboutin has raised $644M in funding, highest among the funded Footwear Brands in Europe.

Footwear Brands in Europe - 2026 Market & Investments Trends

Companies included in Footwear Brands

Brands designing and marketing athletic footwear, casual & formal footwear, therapeutic footwear, shoe care products and accessories. Also included are brands selling/distributing their products primarily through the internet (internet-first brands).

Companies excluded in Footwear Brands

Companies that primarily manufacture or sell apparel, fashion accessories, industrial protective footwear, foot care products, footwear retailers & distributors, contract footwear manufacturers and service providers are excluded.

Key Metrics

Total Companies

1.78K

Top Companies

adidas, Adidas Group & more

Total Funding

Funded Companies

Series A+ Companies

Series C+ Companies

IPOs

Acquisitions

View complete details of this sector

There are more than 1.78K companies in Footwear Brands in Europe. adidas is the top Footwear Brands company in Europe, ranked using Tracxn Score (what's this?).

Here are 5 of the top Footwear Brands companies in Europe:

Company	Description	Location	Founded	Current Stage	Private Funding Raised
adidas	Athletic and sports lifestyle brand	Herzogenaurach (Germany)	1924	Public	-
Adidas Group	Internet first brand of sportswear apparel for men and women	Herzogenaurach (Germany)	1924	Public	-
Salomon	Adventure sports equipment manufacturer	Annecy (France)	1947	Acquired	-
BIMBA Y LOLA	Designer and retailer of women's apparel and accessories	Pontevedra (Spain)	2005	Unfunded	-
Kurt Geiger	Designer and retailer of women's and men's shoes and accessories	London (United Kingdom)	1963	Acquired	-

Get a longer list of companies

Companies founded year-on-year in the Footwear Brands sector in Europe

38 Footwear Brands startups in Europe were founded in 2018 - this is the most number of startups founded in any year in the last 10 years.

Total Number of Companies

Year	No. of companies
2026	-
2025	-
2024	4
2023	11
2022	15
2021	32
2020	36
2019	27
2018	38
2017	32

Stage-wise distribution of Footwear Brands sector companies in Europe

Out of the total 1,783 Footwear Brands companies in Europe, 181 have secured funding. Among them, 150 have reached Series A or higher, and 144 to Series B or beyond.

Founded - 1,783

Funded - 181

Series A+ - 150

Series B+ - 144

Series C+ - 143

Company Stage	No. of companies
Founded	1,783
Funded	181
Series A+	150
Series B+	144
Series C+	143

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Total funding year-on-year in the Footwear Brands sector in Europe

The Footwear Brands sector in Europe saw a total funding of more than $993M in the last 10 years. The most amount of funding was in 2021 at more than $681M.

Total Funding

Year	Total Funding
2025	$171M
2024	$2.35M
2023	$39.2M
2022	$9.52M
2021	$681M
2020	$30.2M
2019	$4.87M
2018	$36.6M
2017	$16.8M

Recent Funding Rounds in Footwear Brands in Europe

In the year 2025, till April 2025, Footwear Brands companies in Europe have raised $325K in equity funding across 1 round. In the same period last year (i.e. till March 2024), Footwear Brands companies in Europe had raised $380K across 1 round. So, 2025 has seen a 14.68% drop in funding in Footwear Brands companies in Europe as compared to 2024.

Here are some recent, important funding rounds in Footwear Brands companies in Europe:

Company	Round Raised	Amount Raised	Funding Date	Investors
Deporwell	Seed	8753	Apr 01, 2025	Eoniq
Fessura	Seed	9740	2024	-
ID.EIGHT	Seed	4384	Mar 21, 2024	-
Start-rite Shoes	Unattributed	3833	Sep 27, 2023	Reward Finance Group
Winqs Sports	Seed	7836	Sep 20, 2023	Triple B and 4 more

See a more detailed list of funding rounds

Europa is the top investor in Footwear Brands companies in Europe based on number of companies invested.

Here are some top investors in Footwear Brands companies in Europe:

Investor	Location	Top Portfolio Companies
Europa	Belgium	Adidas Group, Vibram, Cec-Footwearindustry and Officinecreative
Ministerstvo Hospodárstva Slovenskej Republiky	Bratislava (Slovakia)	Vulkan and Bosp
Lanzadera	Valencia (Spain)	DeVallet, Timpers, Feners and Pompeii
NRW	Dusseldorf (Germany)	Bugatti Fashion and FOND OF
Fil Rouge Capital	Zagreb (Croatia)	MIRET

See a more detailed list of investors

In the year 2026, till January 2026, 1 acquisition happened in Footwear Brands sector in Europe. Last year, in 2025, a total of 6 acquisitions happened in Footwear Brands sector in Europe.

Here are some recent, important acquisitions in Footwear Brands sector in Europe:

Company	Acquisition Type	Acquisition Date	Acquirers
Jacobson Group	Business Acquisition	Jan 07, 2026	Marubeni
Vingino	Business Acquisition	Dec 02, 2025	Centric Brands
Sneaksup	Business Acquisition	May 02, 2025	Lycian Capital and 1 more
Molinarilife	Business Acquisition	Mar 11, 2025	Eqwal Group
The Kooples	Business Acquisition	Mar 07, 2025	Verdoso

See a more detailed list of acquisitions

Acquisition trends in Footwear Brands sector in Europe

Here are the acquisition trends in Footwear Brands sector in Europe:

Total Number of Acquisitions

Year	No. of companies
2026	1
2025	6
2024	9
2023	10
2022	3
2021	11
2020	7
2019	8
2018	8
2017	9

In the year 2023, till October 2023, 1 IPO happened in Footwear Brands sector in Europe.

Here are some recent, important IPOs in Footwear Brands sector in Europe:

Company	IPO Date	Exchange Symbol
Birkenstock Group	Oct 11, 2023	National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ)
Dr. Martens	Feb 03, 2021	London Stock Exchange (LSE)
Dr. Martens	Jan 29, 2021	London Stock Exchange (LSE)
Bally	Mar 29, 2019	New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
Jimmy Choo	Oct 22, 2014	London Stock Exchange (LSE)

See a more detailed list of IPOs

Companies founded by alumni from top colleges in the Footwear Brands in Europe

Most number of Footwear Brands startups in Europe have been founded by alumni from Bocconi University, London School of Economics and Political Science and University of St.Gallen.