Retailer Dr Martens reveals that sales topped £1bn for the first time in its 62-year history, in its latest results.
Retailer Dr Martens, best known for its chunky leather lace-up boots, has revealed that revenues grew 10% to more than £1bn for the first time in the company’s 62-year history this week, in its preliminary results for the year to March 31.
Its direct-to-consumer (D2C) strategy (where it sells directly to its customers via its own stores or online, rather than through wholesale partners) appears to be paying off, with D2C sales now making up more than half of its overall revenue, rising 16% to a record 52% of the total. It said this was helped by opening a net 46 additional company-owned stores, including the transfer of 14 franchise stores in Japan.
The brand revealed it sold almost 14m pairs of boots, shoes and sandals during the year.
Many traditional retail/wholesale global brands, such as sportswear giant Nike, have made the decision to shift their strategy to push direct sales, with first-party data and owning the customer journey becoming even more important in today’s global market.
In its home market of the UK, revenue increased 12% and it said its successful repair and resale UK trial is set to be rolled out to the US.
Dr Martens posted a strong performance in EMEA and APAC, especially Japan. But despite this sales growth, profits before tax fell 29% to £128.9m due to expected charges from a Euro bank debt and operational costs associated with the move to a new US distribution centre.
The US was impacted by well-documented issues with its new LA distribution centre and softer consumer sentiment.
The Group said its committed to continue investing in the business, with £50m this year to support future growth ambitions to become a £2billion brand. It will use the money to invest in people and upgrading systems, as well as opening 25-35 new stores in the current year.
The brand said the final dividend was maintained and it intends to launch initial share buy-back of up to £50m.
“We achieved annual revenue of £1bn for the first time, up 10% and up 4% in constant currency. Reaching this milestone is testament to the strength of our brand, our long-standing DOCS strategy [which is focused on delivering sustainable and profitable growth to drive long-tern value for the brand and its shareholders] and the hard work and dedication of our fantastic people globally. Direct to consumer is now more than half our revenue and the Dr. Martens brand remains strong with all key metrics either ahead of, or in line with, last year.”
Kenny Wilson, Dr Martens Chief Executive Officer
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