Londonderry Business Celebrates 50 Years with Facebook Sweepstakes

Danish footwear brand ECCO is kicking off a month-long celebration of its 50th anniversary with a Facebook sweepstakes.

ECCO, whose U.S. headquarters is located on Delta Drive in Londonderry, is the world's second largest shoe manufacturer. All this month, U.S. customers will enjoy special in-store displays, a Facebook sweepstakes, and historical storytelling through the brand's Tumblr blog.

Founded in 1963, ECCO has produced more than 350 million pairs of shoes globally.

"We are shoemakers at heart and with over 4,000 branded sales locations in more than 90 countries we are, of course, also a large retailer," said chief operating officer, Michael Hauge Sorensen. "This is a business model that provides ECCO with two strong platforms in our quest to become the best shoe company in the world. While never compromising on quality shoemaking, we increasingly turn our attention to consumer demands and needs."

As the world's second largest lifestyle footwear manufacturer, ECCO says it stays ahead of the competition by turning to its Scandinavian heritage for innovative design and modernization of its collections.

"We see the changes around us every day and recognize that ECCO has inherited an obligation to stay competitive and innovative," said Sorensen. "2012 became an exceptionally good year for ECCO, secured by an extraordinary effort by the entire global team along with solid market performance by many successful products."

For more information on ECCO and to join in its celebration of 50 years of passionate shoemaking, visit: http://passion.ecco.com and www.facebook.com/eccousa.

ECCO HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS

• 1963: The company was founded by Danish shoemaker Karl Toosbuy.
• 1984: First fully owned factory established in Portugal.
• 1990: Establishes ECCO USA – later to grow into the single largest market
• 1991: Builds a factory in Indonesia. The site includes both production and a tannery and today is the largest production unit with more than 5,500 employees.
• 1993: Demand rises and ECCO builds a factory and tannery in Thailand.
• 1996: First flagship store opens on the famous Oxford Street in London.
• 1996: Enters the golf shoe market - today the fourth biggest producer of golf shoes.
• 1998: Opens factory in Slovakia.
• 2002: ECCO goes to Asia.
• 2005: Production is established in Xiamen, China.
• 2008: Builds a tannery alongside the shoe factory in Xiamen.
• 2011: Celebrates 1,000th store opening at Mall of America, Minneapolis, USA.
• 2013: Celebrates five decades of shoes with its 50th Anniversary.