Dr Martens plans to invest in store upgrades as profit jumps

(Alliance News) - Dr Martens PLC on Tuesday reported a sharp rise in annual profit but said there is still "work to do" in pivoting the business and investing in its retail offering.

The Northamptonshire, England-based boot maker said pretax profit in the 12 months to March 29 jumped to GBP32.7 million from GBP8.8 million a year earlier.

Revenue eased 2.9% to GBP764.9 million from GBP787.6 million, but cost of sales fell 6.2% to GBP258.9 million from GBP275.9 million. Selling and administrative expenses were down 5.4% at GBP449.0 million from GBP474.7 million.

Dr Martens maintained its dividend at 2.55 pence per share.

Chief Executive Officer Ije Nwokorie said: "There is still work to do in pivoting the business, however in [financial 2027] we will also enter the scale phase of our strategy.

"Desire for the Dr. Martens Brand continues to grow, with more collaborators approaching us, increased wholesale partner support, strong consumer response to new product families, and an excited reaction from the market to our first beacon store on Brewer Street, London."

Nwokorie said Dr Martens will "lean in with increased investment in the brand", including store upgrades.

"With the operating model reset, key capabilities in place, combined with good visibility of our wholesale order books, our business is now well setup to deliver both our [financial 2027] objectives and medium‑term targets," Nwokorie added.

Dr Martens said its retail strategy is centred on moving from a "transactional one-size-fits-all model" to a "tiered retail estate" which makes retail a growth engine, including investment in "high potential" stores.

The ongoing execution of the retail strategy will represent a short-term revenue headwind, the company noted.

Looking ahead, the firm said it plans for "further strong" pretax profit growth in the new year, driven by "operational leverage".

Dr Martens added: "Over the last two years we have put in the hard work to set the business up for growth, and as we look forward there are significant benefits as a result, including the quality of our revenue base through reduced discounting, the strength of our wholesale order books, the benefit from pricing, continued tight management of costs and the improvement in speed of execution from our new market model."

The firm said it has "good visibility" for supply chain costs for the majority of financial 2027.

"We are currently navigating an unpredictable trading environment, with geopolitical uncertainty impacting consumer confidence, and against this backdrop are focused on executing our strategy," it said.

Dr Martens said it is "materially more resilient" than previously, which underpins its confidence in its medium-term targets.

Shares in Dr Martens were up 6.4% at 68.40p on Tuesday morning in London.

By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporter

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