Dr. Martens

The British shoe and accessories brand Dr. Martens reports “good progress” in transitioning from a channel-driven to a consumer-driven business model.

For the financial year ending March 29, 2026, the company reported profit before tax (PBT) of 32.7 million pounds (37.7 million euros), an increase of 271.6 percent. At 764.9 million British pounds, group sales were 2.9 percent below the previous year. Adjusted for exchange rate changes, revenue fell by 1.4 percent. Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose by 30.6 percent to 79.3 million British pounds.

According to Dr. For Martens, this reflects its strategy of prioritizing “earnings quality and profitability growth.” This was achieved by reducing sell-through activity in direct-to-consumer (DTC) channels and off-price wholesale.

Broken down by region, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), including the UK, reported sales of 377.5 million British pounds. This corresponds to a decrease of 1.7 percent (3.7 percent at constant exchange rates). North and South America reached 278.4 million British pounds and the Asia Pacific (APAC) region recorded sales of 109 million British pounds.

Direct sales fell 5.8 percent to £481.2 million, while wholesale sales rose 2.5 percent to £283.7 million.

The company said FY26 was focused on moving to a consumer-centric model. This followed stabilization of the business in FY25. Measures included reducing sell-through activity in the DTC and wholesale business, restructuring the leadership team and simplifying the business model to increase accountability.

Another goal was to strengthen the premium product positioning. This included the growth of the Lowell, Buzz and Zebzag product families, which now account for nine percent of pairs sold. This is a tripling of the FY25 contribution.

Dr. Martens sold 10.2 million pairs of shoes in FY26

Total footwear sales rose 19 percent, supported by styles such as the Lowell and Buzz silhouettes, as well as signature products 1461 Shoe, Adrian Tassel Loafer and Mary Jane. A breakdown of the product range shows that boots are still the most popular models at 52 percent. This is followed by shoes with 31 percent, sandals with eleven percent and bags and other items with six percent. In FY26, the brand sold more than 10.2 million pairs of shoes.

Ije Nwokorie, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dr. Martens, said in a statement: “In FY26, footwear was the standout performer, up 19 percent. Our focus on execution is paying off. We are improving the quality of revenue while strengthening margins, cash generation, balance sheet and overall model resilience.”

Looking ahead to fiscal year 27, according to Dr. Martens “still has more to do” to realign the business. The company will begin the “scaling phase” of its strategy. This includes increased investment in the brand and the implementation of an improved retail strategy. This involves switching from a transactional standard model to a staggered branch network. This positions retail as a growth engine, investing in stores with high potential.

Nwokorie added: “There is still much work to be done to reposition the business; however, in FY27 we will also enter the scaling phase of our strategy. The desirability of the Dr. Martens brand continues to grow. More collaboration partners are joining us and support from wholesale partners is increasing. Consumer response to new product families is strong and the market is responding enthusiastically to our first Beacon store on Brewer Street in London.”

“In FY27, we will move forward with increased brand investment and targeted retail store upgrades. We will also continue to build strong relationships with wholesale partners to support demand at scale. With the relaunched operating model and existing key competencies, combined with good visibility of our wholesale order books, our business is now well positioned to achieve both our FY27 and medium-term targets.”