On the runway, Birkenstock showcases the idea of simplicity and being natural. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The German shoe company has only three stores in Shanghai now.

Speaking about expansion, Piu says: "We are very excited because China is such a huge market."

Piu says that before she joined Birkenstock, she would often visited Dongguan and Shenzhen, in Guangdong province to get shoes produced for her previous European employer.

Jochen Gutzy, the company's head of communications says it did research two years ago and found that the awareness of the brand in China's first-tier cities is pretty high.

The survey also revealed that this is not because the shoes are well distributed in the market, but because people travel.

Commenting on the findings, Gutzy says: "I found that whenever I was in Birkenstock stores in Germany, there were Asian customers especially the Chinese and the Japanese. So, now we are trying to get better connected with the China market.

"Chinese customers are younger, but very well-informed. They are looking for cool brands, high quality, not luxury brands, Birkenstock is a cool brand."

He also added that at the moment the company has no pressure to sell. And, since all the shoes are made in Germany, it wants to develop step by step. The company is looking for the right place to open stores while launching online shops.

Birkenstock is famous for its contoured foot-bed and the company, which was launched in 1896, also manufactures and sells flexible footbed insoles.