Dr Martens’ sales and profits rise in IPO year

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Footwear retailer and brand Dr Martens has reported increased sales and profits for the year that brought its IPO.

Dr Martens chief executive Kenny Wilson said the performance demonstrated “resilience, dedication and agility” in the face of the pandemic, which disrupted retail operations.

Dr Martens’ revenue climbed 15% to £773m in the year to March 31, when pre-tax profits before exceptionals rose 34% to £151.4m.

One-off costs, such as the IPO and a £49.1m bonus for all employees, brought pre-tax profits down 30% to £70.9m.

The retailer said that the sales performance was at the top end of guidance at the time of the IPO and was “significantly driven by ecommerce” revenues, up 73% to account for 30% of the total.

Retail performance was “significantly impacted” by Covid-19 and associated disruption such as lockdowns, with retail revenue down 40% to £99.7m.

Dr Martens retained the outlook guidance laid out at the time of the IPO for the immediate and medium term.

Wilson said: “The pandemic presented challenges to our operations and ways of working. I am very proud of the resilience, dedication and agility of our teams across the globe.

“Our strategy is delivering strong results. We continue to prioritise selling directly to our consumers and, with retail severely impacted by Covid-19 restrictions, we focused our efforts on a step-change in ecommerce.

“The investments and improvements we made in our supply chain in recent years, along with our multi-country sourcing model and close supplier relationships, allowed us to quickly react to a rapidly changing environment, ensuring minimal disruption and maintaining good availability throughout.

“While the global trading environment remains uncertain, the strength of our iconic global brand means we look to the future with confidence.”