Shares in Dr Martens dived more than 27% Thursday after the company issued its fourth profit warning in 12 months, blaming lackluster demand from US wholesalers for its clunky boots and a slower start to the autumn-winter season.
Shares in the British company, which went public in 2021, hit a record low of 79.10 pence ($1) Thursday after the firm also scrapped its revenue guidance for the 2025 fiscal year.
The maker of the “1460” boots with yellow stitching, commonly known as “DMs,” has been struggling, mainly due to reduced orders in the United States from wholesale customers wary of macroeconomic pressures.
For the first half of the year, the company said its wholesale revenue dropped 17% to $199.4 million ($251.9 million).
“The big issue that we’ve had in the US has been our big wholesale customers, who, given the tough consumer environment, are ordering less boots and from other brands,” CEO Kenny Wilson told Reuters.
Dr Martens’ classic lace-up boots, priced from $159 ($200.94) upward, have been a fashion statement since the 1960s but high inflation and economic uncertainty recently have curbed shoppers’ appetite for luxury spending and they are now looking for value purchases.
The company said it had offered small discounts on seasonal colors but would not mark down prices on its flagship black shoes.
It expects revenue for the year ending in March 2024 to decline by a high single-digit percentage, while full-year core profit is seen “moderately below the bottom end of the range” of market expectations, it said.
Analysts forecast a range of $223.7 million—$240 million ($282.6 million—$303 million), according to numbers compiled by the company.
Wilson said the company had, however, seen steady demand in its home market in the United Kingdom, as well as in the rest of Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, after new store openings and increased tourism, which is expected to continue over the key Christmas trading period.
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