The British shoe supplier Dr. Martens plc suffered a slight decline in sales in the first half of the 2025/26 financial year. At the same time, the company was able to reduce its losses.
The results documented initial progress in implementing the new, more consumer-focused growth strategy, according to an interim statement published on Thursday. CEO Ije Nwokorie explained that the company is seeing “the first tender shoots” in the four growth areas of consumers, products, markets and organization.
Currency effects weigh on sales development
In the 26 weeks to September 28, sales were 322 million pounds (383 million euros), down 0.8 percent compared to the same period last year. However, adjusted for exchange rate changes, revenue increased by 0.8 percent.
Developments in America were positive. Sales there grew by 1.8 percent (currency-adjusted +6.3 percent) to 116.8 million British pounds. In the EMEA region, which includes Europe, the Middle East and Africa, revenue fell by 2.3 percent (-3.2 percent adjusted for currency effects) to 158.6 million British pounds. In the Asia-Pacific region they fell by 1.9 percent to 46.6 million British pounds. However, adjusted for currency effects, they increased by 1.5 percent.
The company highlighted that it had deliberately reduced inventory sales to improve sales quality. In our own retail, revenue from products sold at full price rose by six percent.
The company is making progress on earnings
The higher share of sales from full-price items, along with “disciplined cost control,” contributed to the gross margin increasing by 130 basis points to 65.3 percent despite higher customs charges.
This is how Dr. Martens reported earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of 3.1 million British pounds, adjusted for special effects, in the first half of the year, after suffering a corresponding loss of 3.0 million British pounds in the same period of the previous year. The reported net loss fell from 20.8 to 10.0 million British pounds.
For the entire financial year, management continues to expect a profit before taxes (PBT) adjusted for special effects in the range of market expectations, i.e. between approximately 53 and 60 million British pounds. However, additional burdens due to tariff increases are not taken into account in this forecast.