In what is being hailed as the greatest IPO coup since the gazillion-dollar valuation of a pet rock e-commerce store, Birkenstock announced its ambitious moves towards a public debut on Wall Street, confirming the age-old idiom that anything can be sold or bought on the stock market, including sandals. Birkenstock, notable for crafting foot-pleasing, orthopedic-inspired sandals and also for making ugly look fashionable, is now bidding to be the next IT stock and give the likes of tech giant Apple a run for their money. Their motto of treating one's foot with utmost respect has always been a strategic contrast to the dominance of torturous stilettos in the fashion world. The tables seem set to turn with the sandal company's defiant move to make its debut in the market commonly referred to as the financial world's "stiletto alley." Supported by a private equity Knights Templar group calling themselves "L Catterton," the German-based footwear brand is actually, without even a dollop of hyperbole, proposing to flog some shares of their company for a valuation of $9.2 billion. That's right, nine billion dollars, all on the back of selling shoes that look like the love child of a tire tread and a yoga mat. In what might be the zenith of capitalist ambition, Birkenstock and their sandal-selling stakeholders are planning to raise $1.58 billion from this IPO, which roughly equates to selling half of the Statue of Liberty or one-tenth of an actual unicorn. All these might feel like a bedtime story that Elon Musk might tell to lull his spaceships to sleep, but the company has already filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, exhibiting about 32.26 million shares, priced between $44 and $49 each. For the benefit of those still counting the number of zeros in their $9.2 billion claims, that's roughly the equivalent of 64.52 million Birkenstock sandals, give or take. "The capitalist circle of life is beautiful," said a self-appointed expert on both the stock market and shoe economy. "Now, we are waiting to see whether investors will fancy a 'footloose' approach, get their feet wet with Birkenstock, and lollygag all the way to the bank." While it may be easy to dismiss this as part of the evolving world of finance where value can comes in the shape of a sandal, it is a firm reminder that Wall Street is as unpredictable as the fashion industry. After all, who could have ever predicted that something that takes care of your bunions could potentially make you a billionaire?