Dr Martens soars as Lite line and Asian shoppers boost takings

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Oct 23, 2017

The retail environment may be tough but Dr Martens seems to be prospering with the company saying Monday that revenue soared 25% to just over £290 million in the year to March. Underlying profit rose an even bigger 27% to £37.5 million.

The company said it’s also seeing online sales rocketing with a 54% rise to £32.4 million. And it’s not only UK shoppers who are driving the increase with the e-sales and physical stores sales rise helped by strong interest from Asian shoppers. They now account for 25% of total turnover.

Sales in the US aren’t proceeding so strongly, however, with the firm saying they were “tough” during the period, although they still rose by 13%.

So what are its customers buying? Well, the new DM’s Lite have helped boost turnover with 200,000 pairs sold during the period. The shoes look like traditional DM’s but have lighter soles. DM’s in alternative colours and floral prints have also proved popular.

Dr Martens was acquired for £300 million in 2013 by private equity firm Permira and has been on an expansion drive ever since. It has opened 18 stores this year, as well as moving into its state-of-the-art new flagships-cum-HQ in Camden, London. 

It has plans for up to 25 stores in total this year, including more in Japan, South Korea, in Europe, the UK and US.
However, Steve Murray, the CEO who led the firm in the past three years did not deliver the latest results after he recently stepped down. Chairman Paul Mason and the board are currently seeking a replacement and on Monday, CFO Jon Mortimore was the one discussing the figures. 

He said that new shoe launches appeal to a wide customer group including those who wore DM’s in their youth as well as younger shoppers who have been brought up wearing trainers.