The rise, fall and potential rise again of countercultural brand Dr Martens

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a day ago

When the Allied victory was announced in 1945, Germans took the streets in droves.
Soldiers and civilians alike took to shops, museums and government buildings to loot, searching for Nazi memorabilia, money and food in the wake of their country's defeat.
One man, Dr Klaus Maerten, declined to participate.
Instead, he walked into a shoemaker and asked to buy some leather.
For 60 years Dr Maerten's creation became a countercultural symbol.
But in 2025, its latest financial forecast shows it could become victim of the very market forces its wearers aimed to subvert.
Dr Klaus Maerten was a 25-year-old army doctor for Nazi Germany when he came up with the idea of an air-cushioned sole shoe to help him recover from a skiing injury.
He used parts of a car tyre to cushion the inside of his army boots, and went on to sell his shoes primarily to German housewives over 40 to wear while gardening.
By 1959, the business of Dr Martens was booming and an English family took notice.
The Griggs family, who were established in the footwear business and locals of Wollaston in the English Midlands — came across the "air-cushioned soles" in a German magazine.
They bought an exclusive licence to the shoe, made their own tweaks — including the distinctive yellow stitching — and aimed their new product at factory workers and miners for £2.
But one young musician would later change their trajectory forever.
Pete Townshend was a guitarist for a band named the Who when he walked into the Griggs family's West Midlands store.
He bought a pair of 1460 boots, and later wore them on stage in 1967 as a symbol of his own working class pride.
According to the brand, the boots exploded in popularity from there.
The punk subculture was emerging and they adopted the boots as an "anti-fashion" statement, as did Elton John, the Clash and the Sex Pistols.
However the boots' popularity also crossed over with many of the early British skinhead groups.
Skinhead groups were also known to adhere to racist, homophobic and fascist ideologies, whereas the punk subculture was synonymous with movements advocating anarchism, anti-fascism, and communism.
"Without any warning or intent, Dr Martens were suddenly picked up by early multicultural, ska-loving skinheads — who proudly championed British working class style," the brand said.
The alarm bells for Dr Martens started sounding as early as 2020.
Over the years it adapted to market pressure by moving some of its manufacturing to China, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand — countries that would keenly feel the sting of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The brand issued its first profit warning in November 2022, although then-chief executive Kenny Wilson said he was confident the lead up to Christmas could help resolve their woes.
"Going into the winter season, we see people buying more of our iconic boots," he said.
But it was soon clear the brand was in for protracted pain.
By November 2023, the company had issued its fourth profit warning as pre-tax profits fell by 55 per cent.
Mr Wilson again put the falling figure down to market forces outside the brand's control, including the rising cost of living.
"Virtually all of the big footwear and apparel brands have had difficult numbers," Mr Wilson said.
A year later, Kenny Wilson was gone.
He was replaced with Ije Nwokorie, who spent the next two years attempting to claw back some of the business's tumbling share price.
In last year's financial report, Mr Nwokorie said he was steadily turning things around.
"We have made good progress against our objective of turning around our USA performance," he said.
"We continue to actively manage our costs and are on track to meet our inventory reduction target for [the 2025 financial year].
"The team and I are squarely focused on returning the business to sustainable and profitable growth."
Six months later, Dr Martens shares fell to an all-time low.
The US tariff announcement tanked the business's shares, which had begun to plateau following better sales in America and the Asia Pacific.
On Friday, the company revealed the extent President Donald Trump's trade war, the cost of living, the prevalence of fast fashion brands and even the threat of climate change had impacted the brand.
Its reported revenue for the 2024/25 financial year was £787.6 million ($1.64 billion), down from £877.1 million the year before.
The report said while the £89.5 million loss was felt, it was actually in keeping with what the company had forecasted the year prior.
The report said the drop was expected to happen due to "a challenging macroeconomic and consumer backdrop in several of our core markets".
Despite anticipation profits would likely suffer in the US due to Mr Trump's tariffs against many countries in Asia, US sales increased.
"While the USA is an important market for us, we are a truly global brand that is sold in more than 60 countries around the world," the report said.
"We do however recognise that there is continued macroeconomic uncertainty and the full outcome of tariffs is still unknown, and we will monitor this closely through the year and take action as appropriate."
The brand said it was also able to save about £25 million in costs, which would go toward a better result next year.
As a result, it said it would not be increasing prices on its products.
The report said while it was anticipating its first return to profit in years, the brand had to be cautious about predicting the next 12 months.
"I am laser-focused on day-to-day execution, managing costs and maintaining our operational discipline while we navigate the current macroeconomic uncertainties," Mr Nwokorie said.
"This, combined with the enduring demand for our products, the robustness of our operations, the strength of our cashflow generation and balance sheet and the expertise of our people, gives me confidence that we will deliver the sustainable, profitable growth that this brand is capable of."