DR. MARTENS PLC
ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE
52 WEEKS ENDED 30 MARCH 2025
STRATEGIC REPORT
02 At a glance
04 Our products
06 Business model
08 Chair’s Statement
10 Q&A with Ije and Giles
14 CEO review
16 Performance in focus
20 Strategy
22 Finance review
30 Key performance indicators
32 Stakeholder engagement
and Section 172 Statement
36 Risk management and our
principal risks
42 Viability assessment and
going concern
44 People and Culture
48 Sustainability
81 Our TCFD disclosures
91 Non-financial and sustainability
information statement
GOVERNANCE
94 Chair’s introduction to governance
98 Governance at a glance
100 Board of Directors
106 Governance Report
110 Our stakeholders
114 Our culture
120 Nomination Committee Report
128 Remuneration Committee Report
131 Remuneration Report
145 Audit and Risk Committee Report
154 Directors’ Report
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
160 Independent Auditors’ Report
168 Consolidated Statement
of Profit or Loss
169 Consolidated Statement
of Comprehensive Income
170 Consolidated Balance Sheet
171 Consolidated Statement
of Changes in Equity
172 Consolidated Statement
of Cash Flows
173 Notes to the Consolidated
Financial Statements
219 Parent Company Balance Sheet
220 Parent Company Statement
of Changes in Equity
221 Notes to the Parent Company
Financial Statements
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
228 Five-year financial summary
(unaudited)
230 First half/second half analysis
(unaudited)
231 Glossary and Alternative
Performance Measures (APMs)
234 Shareholder information
IBC Company information
I am honoured to be the CEO of Dr. Martens. We have an iconic
global brand, high quality products, a world class supply chain,
modern technology systems, committed wholesale and distributor
partners and a passionate and talented team.
Our single focus in FY25 was to bring stability back to Dr. Martens.
We have achieved this by returning our direct-to-consumer channel
in the Americas back to growth, resetting our marketing approach
to focus relentlessly on our products, delivering cost savings, and
significantly strengthening our balance sheet.
IJE
NWOKORIE
Chief Executive Officer
STRATEGIC REPORT
01
DR. MARTENS PLC ANNUAL REPORT 2025
AT A GLANCE
A GLOBAL
BRAND ICON
AMERICAS
Americas revenue was down 10% constant
currency (CC)
1
year-on-year, driven by
wholesale, down 21% (CC), as expected.
One of our key objectives for FY25 was to
turn around Americas DTC performance
and get it back into positive growth in H2.
We achieved this with growth of 1% (CC) in
H2. We took the decision to slow down store
openings and focus on the current store
estate. We did however open our first outlet
store in Los Angeles, giving us a more
efficient clearance channel in the market.
£288.5m
Revenue
2024: £325.8m
59
Own stores
2024: 61
EMEA
EMEA revenue declined by 10%
(CC) year-on-year, driven by the
UK. There was a difficult consumer
backdrop in EMEA, particularly in our
biggest quarter, Q3, where we saw a
very promotional backdrop in several
markets. We continued to open stores
in successful conversion markets
and new markets, opening eight
stores including our first stores
in Sweden and Austria.
£384.2m
Revenue
2024: £431.8m
103
Own stores
2024: 102
APAC
APAC revenue grew 1% (CC) driven
by DTC, up 9% (CC) year-on-year
with a good performance in Japan,
China and Korea. Wholesale was
down 15% (CC) as expected.
We continued to invest in stores
in the region, opening eight stores
with the majority in Japan (five)
and China (two).
£114.9m
Revenue
2024: £119.5m
77
Own stores
2024: 76
84
Third-party stores
2024: 70
02
DR. MARTENS PLC ANNUAL REPORT 2025
Pairs m
10.5m
2024: 11.5m
Revenue £m
£787.6m
Constant currency
1
: £804.8m
2024: £877.1m
Adjusted EBIT
2
£m
£60.7m
Constant currency
1
: £67.1m
2024: £126.4m
Adjusted PBT
2
£m
£34.1m
Constant currency
1
: £40.3m
2024: £97.2m
Reported PBT: £8.8m
2024: £93.0m
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
1. Constant currency applies the prior period exchange rates to current period results to remove the impact of FX. More information is provided on page 231.
2. Alternative Performance Measures as defined in the Glossary on pages 231 to 233.
3. Audit results above 75% scoring for Tier 1 and above 70% for Key Tier 2, in line with Intertek Workplace Conditions Assessment scoring methodology.
OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
Planet
Diverted
23
tonnes of leather waste from
landfill using reclaimed leather
Product
Sold over
10,000
pre-loved pairs through our
USA resale channel, ReWair
Product
Over
5,780
pairs kept on consumers
feet for longer through our
UK authorised repair service
People
100%
of our Tier 1 and Key Tier 2
suppliers CSR audited met
our high standards
3
SUSTAINABILITY HIGHLIGHTS
INVESTMENT CASE: OUR UNIQUE PROPOSITION
We believe that our competitive strengths are what set us apart
and position us to succeed in a rapidly changing world.
1
Iconic Global Brand
with deep consumer resonance and high
engagement levels. Highly democratic
consumer appeal across genders and ages
2
Unique Products
with a highly recognised, protected DNA
and a rich archive to draw inspiration from
3
Significant Growth
Opportunity
We are a global brand with significant
white space opportunity in our current
and new markets, from both existing
and new consumers
Positive
Americas DTC growth in H2
(1% CC)
Pivoted
our marketing approach to
relentlessly focus on product
Reduced
our operating cost base, taking
c.£25m of annualised cost out of
the business without impacting
demand-generating costs
Strengthened
the Balance Sheet through
inventory reduction of £67.2m,
driving £110.3m net debt
reduction (incl. leases)
and a successful refinance
of the business
4
High Product Gross Margin
generated through well-controlled
materials management, deep manufacturing
partnerships and resilience and
responsiveness of operating platform
5
Highly Cash Generative
with relatively low capital requirements
and a resilient Balance Sheet
6
Passionate Culture
focused on innovation, doing the right
thing and leaving things better than
we found them for the next generation
STRATEGIC REPORT
03
DR. MARTENS PLC ANNUAL REPORT 2025
OUR PRODUCTS
A FIT
BOOTS
At the core of our product
offering are our iconic boots,
including the 1460 8-eye boot,
our first boot off the production
line in 1960. Another key boot
silhouette is the 2976 Chelsea
boot and our boots range also
encompasses boots such as
the Jadon, Bex and Sinclair.
57%
FY25 revenue
(2024: 61%)
SHOES
We’ve delivered strong growth
in our shoes category over recent
years. Our bestselling silhouettes
are the 1461 3-eye shoe and
the Adrian tassel loafer. We’ve
also seen good success with
new franchises/families such
as the Buzz and Lowell.
26%
FY25 revenue
(2024: 22%)
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DR. MARTENS PLC ANNUAL REPORT 2025
FOR ALL
SANDALS
Sandals has increased as a
percentage of our product mix
in recent years and continues
to have a significant growth
opportunity ahead. Our sandals
range includes our best-selling
Blaire and Gryphon silhouettes
and also includes our fast-growing
mules range, led by the Zebzag.
12%
FY25 revenue
(2024: 12%)
BAGS
& OTHER
Our bag range today is focused
on key silhouettes of leather
bags such as the Kiev backpack,
the heart-shaped bag and our
newer weekender bag. This
category also includes socks,
laces and shoecare.
5%
FY25 revenue
(2024: 5%)
STRATEGIC REPORT
05
DR. MARTENS PLC ANNUAL REPORT 2025
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BUSINESS MODEL
MOVING FORWARD
WITH PURPOSE
CORE COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES
OUR FOUNDATIONS
People
Our 2,348 passionate and dedicated
people are the core building block
of our long-term success
Brand
Our iconic, global brand together
with our high quality, unique
product is the equity that drives
sustainable, long-term growth
Consumers
We are proud to have a diverse
global consumer base, who
have deep emotional connection
to the brand
DESIGNING
Based on our deeply entrenched
and unique Originals DNA, our
product designers operate at the
forefront of trends, designing
ranges for sale up to two years
into the future
PROTECTING
The intellectual
property (IP) of our
core DNA is protected
by our passionate and
highly talented IP team
MANUFACTURING
During FY25, we manufactured our
products in nine countries with the
majority manufactured in Vietnam
and our Made In England range
and most collaborations made
in our Cobbs Lane factory in
Wollaston, England
MARKETING
Our global, regional and local
marketing campaigns aim to
grow brand awareness and
drive product demand and
reach across all channels
SELLING
We segment our selling by
both channel – ecommerce,
retail and wholesale –
and by region – EMEA,
Americas and APAC
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DR. MARTENS PLC ANNUAL REPORT 2025
At Dr. Martens, we do the right thing
for the long term. This means focusing
on creating long-term, sustainable
value for our stakeholders.
WHAT WE DO
Dr. Martens is an iconic, global footwear brand. We make
boots, shoes, sandals and bags, which we sell through our
DTC channel via our ecommerce platforms and our stores,
and through our business-to-business channel via both
wholesalers and distributors.
Read more page 02
GLOBAL REVENUE CHANNELS WHO WE CREATE VALUE FOR
Ecommerce
Our single most important store
is our own .com website, which covers
the majority of our markets. In FY25,
ecommerce generated 34% of revenue.
Retail
We operate 239 own stores globally
and they provide the opportunity to
showcase our brand and products in
the best possible physical environment.
Wholesale
This encompasses wholesale partner
relationships, together with country
distributor models and franchised
stores, giving the brand extra reach
and awareness.
Owners
Long-term business
success drives share price
appreciation together with a
progressive dividend policy
Our people
Ongoing training and
development within a
supportive and inclusive
working environment
Consumers
Being able to buy a
timeless, durable product
for a fair price
Partners
Working with an iconic,
global brand that
resonates strongly
with their consumers
Suppliers
Association with a strong,
responsible brand that
can generate long-term
demand growth
Environment
& communities
Reducing our environmental
impact and leaving things
better than we found them
Partners
We have strong wholesale partner
relationships globally, generating
both brand awareness and profit
Suppliers
Our long-term supplier relationships
ensure consistently high product quality
Financial
Strong margins, high cash conversion and
a robust Balance Sheet support continued
investment in long-term growth
STRATEGIC REPORT
07
DR. MARTENS PLC ANNUAL REPORT 2025
CHAIR’S STATEMENT
FOUNDATIONS
IN PLACE
“This has been a period of
significant change. Whilst our
results are down, as expected,
we achieved the four objectives
we laid out at the start of FY25.
In Ije and Giles we have a new
and engaged management team
and the new strategy they are
embedding will drive sustainable
growth in the years ahead.”
PAUL MASON
CHAIR
Giles has brought renewed financial discipline to
the business, particularly around costs and cash flow.
We achieved the top end of our £20m-£25m cost
savings guidance, with the full benefit to be felt in
FY26, and opex was very tightly controlled across the
business. Importantly, as I wrote in this statement last
year, these cost savings have been achieved whilst
protecting the brand and our future growth prospects.
We have also meaningfully strengthened the Balance
Sheet. We reduced inventory by £67.2m, with a further
reduction guided for FY26, with net debt reducing by
£110.3m incl. leases. In the autumn we also successfully
refinanced the business, ahead of schedule, reducing
the amount of overall debt and giving certainty for the
coming years.
FY25 also saw the transition of CEO, from Kenny to Ije,
which was a well-planned and phased leadership transition.
Initially Ije remained focused on his Chief Brand Officer
(CBO) role, whilst Kenny remained as CEO. In his role as
CBO, Ije spear-headed a major pivot in our marketing,
from previously being centred around cultural storytelling
to now being focused very firmly on our products. Ije also
restructured our marketing and brand organisation, bringing
in new talent and ensuring we were set up appropriately
for a leading global brand. In the autumn we moved into
the second phase of leadership transition, with Ije and
Kenny spending significant time together handing over
In last year’s statement we shared that this would be a
difficult period financially, and this proved to be the case.
The ongoing weakness in our Americas business,
particularly wholesale, coupled with a subdued consumer
backdrop in EMEA and some cost headwinds, has
weighed on our profitability significantly. At a Group level,
revenue declined by 8.2% CC (constant currency basis)
to £804.8m. Within these results there is a mixed picture
regionally, with EMEA and Americas revenues down
and APAC slightly up on a CC basis. Adjusted PBT was
£34.1m, impacted by lower revenues.
At the start of FY25, we also outlined the four key
objectives we were focused on: returning our Americas
DTC business to growth in the second half, changing our
marketing approach to refocus on our product, reducing
our cost base by £20m-£25m and strengthening our
Balance Sheet. I am pleased to report that we achieved
all four of these objectives. Whilst the consumer
backdrop remains challenging, and our Americas
wholesale business will take time to rebuild, the business
has more stable foundations than it did a year ago.
GOVERNANCE
This period has also been one of significant management
change, and I am very confident that in Ije Nwokorie and
Giles Wilson, as CEO and CFO respectively, we have the
right management team to lead the business and to build
the next stage of our growth.
08
DR. MARTENS PLC ANNUAL REPORT 2025
NEW STRATEGY
CEO responsibilities and knowledge. Ije then became CEO
on 6 January, with Kenny remaining with the business
until the end of March as a resource for Ije and to ensure
a successful and complete transition.
On behalf of the Board, I would like to express sincere
thanks to Kenny for his time, care and dedication in ensuring
that this CEO transition was a successful one. During his
almost seven years as CEO, Kenny oversaw significant
growth in the business and transformed our capabilities. His
focus on product, brand and custodianship instilled a strong
culture through the organisation and we wish him all the
best for the next stage of his career.
Since taking over as CEO, Ije has brought a new energy
and focus to the organisation. Working in partnership
with Giles, Ije has undertaken a comprehensive review
of our strategy and operational model. As part of the
FY25 results, Ije and Giles have shared our new evolved
strategy. You can read more on this on pages 20 and 21
and my thoughts on it in the box below.
At the end of FY25 we also welcomed two new Non-
Executive Directors to the Board, Robert Hanson and
Benoit Vauchy. Robert is an experienced executive with
a strong track record of delivering growth at consumer
brands. He was CEO of John Hardy and American Eagle
Outfitters and also served as executive vice president
(EVP) Wines and Spirits for Constellation Brands.
Prior to this he served for over a decade in senior roles
at Levi Strauss & Co, including as President of the
Americas division and, latterly, as Global Brand
President, Americas. His significant experience of the
North American market will be particularly valuable to
the Board and business in the coming years.
Benoit is a Partner at the Company’s largest investor,
global investment firm Permira, where he is a member
of the Investment and Executive Committees. He has
served on the board of Spanish online travel company
eDreams ODIGEO as a Non-Executive Director for a
decade, during which time the business has undergone
a significant period of transformation. Benoit has
worked at Permira since 2006, and previously spent
six years at JPMorgan in London and Frankfurt. Benoit’s
appointment demonstrates Permira’s significant
commitment to Dr. Martens and their focus on helping
the business get back into growth. The appointment
came after a change in the Permira relationship
agreement, entitling them to appoint two Board
Directors whilst their holding is over 20%.
More information can be found in our
Governance Report from page 92
PEOPLE
Throughout FY25 our people have continued to work
with dedication, tenacity and commitment. The culture
of Dr. Martens is a special one, and something we
continue to nurture. Our business is lucky to be full of
passionate, talented people and I would like to express
the Board’s gratitude to them.
SUSTAINABILITY
Our Sustainability Team now sits within our brand
organisation, and we have a renewed focus on better
communicating to our consumers the inherent strengths
of our products. The brand has embodied timeless
design, longevity and durability for over six decades, and
we have long focused on the sustainability of how our
products are made and sold. You can read more about
our progress against our sustainability commitments
in our Sustainability Report on page 48 onwards.
DIVIDEND
In the FY24 results we announced an intention to hold
the FY25 dividend flat in absolute terms on FY24 and the
dividend the Board is proposing for FY25 is in line with
this commitment. For FY26 we will revert to our dividend
policy, of a 25-35% earnings payout. Dr. Martens
continues to be a highly cash generative business.
I would like to close this statement with thanks to our
supportive shareholders. We appreciate that the past
few years have been challenging and we are firmly
focused on unlocking the brand’s potential and returning
the business to growth.
PAUL MASON
CHAIR
4 JUNE 2025
Since Permira bought the business
in 2014, we have significantly
invested in our systems and internal
capabilities. These strengthened
foundations give the new leadership
team a solid platform on which
to execute the new strategy.
Over the past few months, Ije, Giles
and the wider leadership team have
undertaken a comprehensive and
thorough review of the business and
as part of our FY25 results we shared
the new strategy. This builds on the
work in FY25 stabilising the business,
transitioning to the new leadership
team, focusing on product led
marketing and introducing the
necessary financial disciplines.
The Dr. Martens brand is well-
known across the globe, however
our revenues remain significantly
below the potential of the brand.
Iam confident that in Ije and Giles
we have the right leadership to
unlock the opportunities ahead.
More information can be
found on our new strategy
on page 20
STRATEGIC REPORT
09
DR. MARTENS PLC ANNUAL REPORT 2025
Q&A WITH IJE AND GILES
IJE NWOKORIE
Chief Executive Officer
GILES WILSON
Chief Financial Officer
10
DR. MARTENS PLC ANNUAL REPORT 2025
Q&A
What attracted you to your roles at Dr. Martens?
IJE: I’ve always loved the brand since I got my first,
used pair, as a student in the 90s. And in a career that
has had me influence some of the world’s most iconic
brands, Dr. Martens has always been the example
of a brand that resonates across demographics and
generations. From both personal and professional
perspectives, it was incredibly attractive and the
decision to join the Board at IPO was a no-brainer.
Beyond that though, having sat on the Board and then
served as Chief Brand Officer (CBO), I’ve got to see
this brand from the inside, so I know first-hand the
passion and talent of our people, the strength of the
product line and the robustness of its operations.
So of course, the opportunity to lead the organisation
to capitalise on this platform and build the most desired
premium footwear brand in the world is as exciting an
opportunity as I can imagine.
GILES: As I’ve said before, when I got the email about
the Dr. Martens CFO role it just made me smile. It is
rare that you get the opportunity to work for a brand
that has such an iconic product that has so much
emotional connection to so many people. The product
itself has such quality and so much untapped
opportunity. Add this to the key financial fundamentals,
a great margin structure, strong cash generation and
significant growth runway and it was a no-brainer for me.
I’ve really enjoyed my first year as CFO of this business
and I’m excited for the opportunities ahead.
Dr. Martens has pivoted away from broad culture-based
storytelling to a product-led marketing approach. How has
this shift impacted consumer engagement and sales so far?
IJE: Over the last few seasons, our marketing moved
away from talking about our amazing products.
This narrowed the consumers we were appealing to,
particularly in countries where we are less well-known.
The big early decision I therefore made as CBO was
to shift our marketing approach to focus relentlessly on
product and we have seen some great initial responses.
The first campaign under the new marketing approach,
‘Ambassador’, launched in July 2024 which was a
variation of our iconic products in a soft leather. We know
our consumers really care about comfort and although
we’ve always sold soft leather products, we’d not leant
into that attribute through marketing in the past. We went
big with a ‘we’ve gone soft’ campaign in stores and online
and this range performed really well for us, consistently
being in our top-selling products. There’s more we’ll do
and say about comfort in the future.
The most recent campaign was Buzz, a new shoe built
off a product from our archive. We highlighted Buzz’s
comfort and versatility and worked in both our DTC
channels and in concert with our B2B partners to bring
Buzz to the world. Sales have been fantastic, as Buzz
quickly became not just our best-selling product, but
a cultural phenomenon in its own right.
We’re only at the start of this journey, we have some
great new talent in our brand organisation and we
make phenomenal products – it is just a case of telling
that story to more consumers globally.
The USA market has been challenging for you.
What is the strategy and outlook here?
GILES: The USA market has been challenging for
a number of reasons including the macro environment
and a weaker consumer market, especially for boots.
IJE: It is also the case, however, that our USA business
has more fashion-led consumers than other markets,
and we’ve historically sold in too narrow a product
range, particularly to our wholesale customers. That
meant that we were more impacted than we should
have been by the boots fashion downturn. This isn’t
a quick fix, but we’re firmly focused on rebuilding our
USA business in a more sustainable way.
GILES: We are pleased to see that wholesale in-market
inventory levels are now in a much healthier place.
Going forward, we will also change our approach to
USA wholesale, from its current quite transactional
approach to a more strategic partnership, as we
currently have in EMEA. This means working closely
with wholesale partners to align on mutual aims and
opportunities. This will take time to embed however
it will lead to a more resilient business in the future.
IJE: The good news is we’re already beginning to see
results with DTC growth in the second half. And as I’ve
travelled around and met with our wholesale partners,
they all see Dr. Martens as key to their future and are
keen to partner with us in building a strong wholesale
operation in the Americas.
STRATEGIC REPORT
11
DR. MARTENS PLC ANNUAL REPORT 2025
Q&A WITH IJE AND GILES CONTINUED
Dr. Martens has implemented a £25m cost-action plan and
has strengthened its Balance Sheet. How are you thinking
about the efficiency of the business going forward?
GILES: Due to the rapid growth of the business from
FY19 to FY23, the cost base had grown significantly
alongside revenue creating an infrastructure more
suited to a bigger organisation. Because of the loss
of wholesale revenue, which has very few fixed costs
attached, the cost base remained too high for the
size of the current business. We therefore did a review
of the cost base and identified c.£25m of cost which
could be removed from the business to drive
efficiencies and not impact the sales operations.
IJE: We moved swiftly to implement this plan without
impacting demand-generating spend and these
savings underpin FY26.
GILES: There has also been a cultural shift internally
and we now have a more cost-focused mentality
as a business.
IJE: Looking forward, as a leadership team we’ll
continue to focus on any areas where we can drive
greater efficiency – which also usually leads to quicker
decisions and greater accountability and provides
a basis for a lighter, more modern organisation.
Why the shift in strategy?
IJE: The previous strategy, which was called DOCS,
was centred around capturing demand for our core
products by expanding and integrating distribution.
It was essentially channel-first. This strategy saw us
through significant growth in revenue and raised brand
awareness, but part of that came from the benefit of
a growing boots category driven by a style conscious
consumer. We’re now operating in a very different
external environment, and the new strategy is crucially
all about being consumer-first. It builds on both the
significant strengths of our business as well as the
work done in FY25 which stabilised the business. We
previously had too narrow a focus – we primarily focused
on one type of consumer, a boots-led product base and
approached market growth with a DTC-first mindset. We
will widen our growth levers – by more actively growing
shoes, sandals and bags (as well as boots) and be more
consumer-led in terms of which model we use by market
– for some that will mean distributor-led, others will be
DTC-led, and some a hybrid.
GILES: This approach will reduce risk, improve the
sustainability of future profitable growth, and improve
returns. What doesn’t change is that our brand has deep
consumer engagement and our product range is strong.
What are the main objectives of the new strategy?
IJE: Dr. Martens aspires to be the world’s most desired
premium footwear brand. Premium means higher price
points than the category norm, with a strong value-for-
money equation – we’re not trying to be a luxury brand.
The new strategy has four levers: engaging more
consumers, driving more product purchase occasions,
curating market-right distribution and simplifying the
operating model. You can read more about our new
strategy on page 20.
“As with any strategy, humility
is key, and we will stay close to
our partners and consumers,
to make sure we are fine-tuning
plans and actions as the world
changes around us.”
IJE NWOKORIE
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
More information can be found on our
new strategy on page 20
OUR LEVERS FOR GROWTH
Introducing our
new strategy
CONSUMER
Engage more consumers
ORGANISATION
Simplify the operating model
PRODUCT
Drive more
purchase
occasions
MARKETS
Curate
market-right
distribution
12
DR. MARTENS PLC ANNUAL REPORT 2025
How will this strategy impact employees,
consumers and other stakeholders?
IJE: One of the key focus areas of the new strategy is
around organisation, operations and culture. We have
seen rapid growth, and our internal structures now
aren’t all fit for purpose. We will review and simplify
our operating model to speed up the business by
simplifying accountability, maximising productivity and
profitability, while making sure that Dr. Martens enables
people to do their best work. Without our people we’d
be nothing, and they remain at the heart of what we do.
We want existing consumers to discover more products
and more wearing occasions for Docs, and we want
to reach more consumers who haven’t shopped from
us before. The new strategy is consumer-first in every
respect. Importantly, by being consumer-first, it will
bring us into more strategic alignment with our
wholesale partners and create a strong, long-term
basis for us to grow together.
GILES: We expect the new strategy to deliver
sustainable, profitable revenue growth above the
rate of the relevant footwear market, with operating
leverage driving a mid to high-teens EBIT margin,
and underpinned by strong cash generation. This will
create value for shareholders.
Giles, how do you think about capital allocation?
GILES: Right now, our focus is on investing into the
business to drive our strategy and continuing to reduce
our net debt position. Alongside this, we are committed
to a progressive dividend policy.
How does this strategy position
the business for long-term success?
IJE: The new strategy broadens the growth
opportunities for the business – by market, and
adopting different models by market dependent on the
consumer, landscape and maturity; across our product
range; by widening our wholesale distribution; and by
stretching our pricing architecture. All of these should
enable the business to grow, and do so in a more
sustainable way, in the years ahead.
Do you see any challenges in implementing the new strategy?
GILES: We have big ambitions for this brand. There
is a lot that we want to do and we won’t be able to do it
all at once, so we need to take time to prioritise where
to invest our cash resources and so make sure we
implement it in the right way. Clearly, we won’t be
immune to the wider macroeconomic backdrop whilst
we are implementing the new strategy, so inevitably
there may be areas that evolve or new issues we’ll deal
with along the way.
IJE: And as with any strategy, humility is key, and we
will stay close to our partners and consumers, to make
sure we are fine-tuning plans and actions as the world
changes around us.
What are your priorities for FY26?
IJE: Our focus will be on pivoting the organisation to
ensure our people, plans, processes and partners are
set up to deliver our consumer-first strategy. With these
aims in mind, our key objectives to deliver growth for
FY26 are to reduce the reliance on discounted pairs
in Americas wholesale, drive pairs growth in product
families such as Buzz, Zebzag and Lowell, open in new
markets through a capital-light structure and simplify
our operating model.
STRATEGIC REPORT
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DR. MARTENS PLC ANNUAL REPORT 2025
CEO REVIEW
TIMELESS
ENERGY
We delivered strongly against our four FY25
objectives set out at the start of the year: we returned
our Americas DTC to growth in H2; we pivoted our
marketing to relentlessly focus on product, with new
products such as Ambassador, Anistone, Buzz and
Dunnet Flower performing very strongly for us and
our partners; we delivered £25m of annualised cost
savings, at the top end of our target, with the full
benefit in FY26; and we strengthened our balance
sheet through a significant reduction in inventory
and net debt, as well as the successful refinancing
of the Group.
Group revenue declined by 8% CC, in line with
guidance and against a challenging macroeconomic
and consumer backdrop in several of our core markets.
Gross margin declined by 0.6pts to 65.0% mainly
driven by lower DTC revenues, together with clearance
of some aged and fragmented product lines through
USA wholesale channels to reduce inventory. We tightly
managed both COGS and operating costs through
the year, with operating costs broadly flat, even after
increased demand generation spend. Adjusted PBT was
£34.1m, or £40.3m on a CC basis, and PBT including
adjusting items and exceptional costs was £8.8m.
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DR. MARTENS PLC ANNUAL REPORT 2025
She has over 20 years of brand building and leadership
experience. In her role as CBO she will be responsible for
driving the business’ brand strategy, vision and creative
direction, and will oversee its global product, marketing
and sustainability divisions. She will assume her role at
the start of July. Paul Zadoff joined at the start of June
as Americas President. He brings 30 years of leadership
experience with iconic global brands, including two
decades at NIKE. Paul will be responsible for leading the
experienced regional team in driving the performance,
growth and profitability of the Americas business.
We have made good progress implementing the
strategy of our world class Supply Chain in recent years,
enhancing the flexibility of our DC network, significantly
improving the control over our supply chain inputs and
diversifying our factory base. For AW25, our planned
Tier 1 footwear sourcing is 62% Vietnam, 31% Laos,
4% Thailand, 2% Pakistan and 1% from our Made In
England factory in Wollaston, UK.
We continue to make good progress against our
sustainability strategy. Our UK repair service, in
partnership with The Boot Repair Company, continues to
receive exceptionally positive feedback. We are working
to expand the UK service to cover a wider range of our
products, as well as actively engaging with potential
repair partners in other markets as we work to expand
the service to more consumers. Our US resale business,
ReWair, has now been live for a year and has had strong
performance with a significant proportion of purchasers
being new to the brand. We have also expanded our
product range made with our reclaimed leather, Genix
Nappa. Finally, we took a step forward in improving the
traceability of our leather supply chain, with 97% of our
leather traceable in FY25.
We are nearing the end of a period of significant systems
investment and are increasingly focused on optimising
our systems to enable growth and drive efficiency.
During the year, we went live with our Customer Data
Platform (CDP) in EMEA and Americas, just ahead of
the peak trading period. The CDP gives us a single view
of the consumer across DTC channels in both regions.
It will allow us to gain deeper insights into customer
behaviour, preferences and customer journeys, and
enable us to deliver personalised marketing and content
to our consumers. As the system gathers more data,
we will see benefits building over time. The last core
system to be implemented is the Supply and Demand
Planning System. This is a modern system which will
help us optimise inventories, maximise availability and
enhance agility across our business. The system is on
track to go live by the end of H1 FY26.
IJE NWOKORIE
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
4 JUNE 2025
Overall, pairs were down 9%, with DTC pairs flat and
wholesale pairs down 15% as expected, as our wholesale
partners normalised their inventory levels. We saw a very
strong performance in shoes, with DTC pairs up 15% with
particular success in our bestselling Adrian Loafer, as well
as in new shoe families, the Lowell and Buzz. Sandals
also saw a good performance, with DTC pairs up 7%, and
we continue to see a strong performance in our mules
range, led by the Zebzag. Boots remained challenging,
with DTC pairs down 9%, with our continuity boots
weaker, as expected. This was partially offset by success
in product newness, both as extensions of the core icons,
for example through the Ambassador soft leather boot
and through new product lines such as the Anistone biker
boot. Our Bags & Other category is currently a relatively
small part of our business and was down 4%, however
we saw particular success with our Weekender bag
(priced at £300/€320/$320) and the Top Handle bag.
We will continue to innovate around bags in future. As
a proportion of FY25 Group revenue, boots accounted
for 57%, shoes 26%, sandals 12% and bags & other 5%.
Collaborations are an important part of our product
strategy and allow us to work with global brands to drive
engagement and excitement with consumers. Throughout
FY25 we continued to work with long-term collaboration
partners such as Stussy and Supreme, and we also worked
with some new partners in the year including a capsule
collection with hit Netflix series Wednesday.
At our FY24 results we announced that we would
be implementing a cost action plan and targeted
£20m-£25m of cost savings, of which the full benefit
would be seen in FY26. We took swift action to identify
and implement savings without impacting demand-
generating spend and identified savings at the top end
of our guided range of £25m, with some benefit seen
in FY25 due to efficient execution. Two-thirds of the
savings came from reducing people costs with the
remaining from efficiencies and procurement savings.
Additionally, we have instilled a culture of tight cost
control across the business which will help drive further
cost focus in future years. As a result of this cost action
plan, we have incurred exceptional costs of £8.9m in
FY25, with further detail provided in the Finance Review.
In February 2025, the Group commenced a project to
change and improve our global technology capabilities,
through the establishment of a new Global Technology
Centre (GTC) in India. This change will allow us to build
on our existing platforms and expand our capabilities in
a sustainable way. As a result, we have incurred £2.8m of
exceptional costs. The benefits of this project will be offset
by double running costs in FY26, with annualised cost
benefits seen in FY27 once the GTC is fully operational.
We are pleased to have recently announced the
appointments of Carla Murphy as Chief Brand Officer
(CBO) and Paul Zadoff as Americas President. Carla
joins from adidas AG, where she served as Global Senior
Vice President/General Manager for adidas Outdoor.
STRATEGIC REPORT
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DR. MARTENS PLC ANNUAL REPORT 2025