Shoe manufacturer Künzli remains in the market
In September, owner Barbara Artmann announced that she would be shutting down her company Künzli in an orderly manner by the first quarter of 2025. Despite careful and professionally supported succession planning, no adequate succession solution was found for the Swiss shoe manufacturer that specializes in health shoes and sneakers. However, after the announcement, new options emerged. The Swiss Roberto Martullo will take over the company from January 2025; he is known through his marriage to Magdalena Martullo-Blocher, majority shareholder of the Ems Chemie group. He explained about the takeover: “Such a traditional Swiss company must not be lost. Künzli accompanied my youth. My sneakers and my soccer shoes were from Künzli and were my favorites. I simply couldn’t watch this Swiss icon disappear. I will ensure that the company remains intact for customers, partners and, in particular, employees. I am excited to drive Künzli forward together with a committed team.”
Artmann told schuhkurier about the solution now found: “I didn’t want to be the one who took over this Swiss sanctuary and then buried it. The first call I received after the closure was announced was from a doctor who was concerned about care. Thanks to public interest, Mr. Martullo and we were able to network. The handover process now went very quickly. Normally something like this would take three months. We did it in three months. But I immediately had a good feeling and met Mr. Martullo as a straightforward person with a lot of business know-how in the background who makes this possible. It is important to him that the sneakers and orthopedic shoes remain. Otherwise, he will certainly come up with his own ideas.”
Both the Künzli Ortho line and the sneaker line will be continued by Martullo. After taking over the company on January 1, 2025, Artmann will remain active until the middle of the year or as long as desired to guarantee the transfer of know-how.
Künzli was founded in 1927 as a manufacturer of sports shoes, and in the 1970s the stability shoe with lateral stabilizers was added, which forms the basis of Künzli Ortho. According to Künzli, this line is still the leading therapy for ankle and ligament injuries today. In 2005 a sneaker line was added. In 2012, Künzli lost its trademark, the five stripes, to the US company K-Swiss, which was founded from Künzli. In 2020, however, Künzli got the rights back.