REG - Dr. Martens PLC - Q3 FY26 Trading Statement

Dr MartensAnnouncement

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RNS Number : 4163Q  Dr. Martens PLC  27 January 2026

27 January 2026

Dr. Martens plc

Trading statement for the 13 weeks ended 28 December 2025

 

GOOD PROGRESS EXECUTING OUR CONSUMER-FIRST STRATEGY AND REMAIN ON TRACK FOR
SIGNIFICANT PROFIT GROWTH IN FY26

 

"This is a year of pivot, as we make the necessary changes to our business to
set us up for future sustainable growth. I remain laser focused on executing
our new strategy and we will deliver all four of our strategic objectives for
FY26. We have continued to improve the quality of our revenue through a
disciplined approach to promotions and this represents a headwind to overall
revenue, particularly in Ecommerce. We remain on track to deliver significant
year-on-year growth in PBT.

 

I am particularly pleased with the performance of our Americas business, with
both Retail and Wholesale showing good growth as a result of the actions taken
over the past year. The EMEA market continues to be challenging, with our DTC
revenue performance impacted by both the market and our more disciplined
promotional stance. We delivered a good Wholesale performance, with growth
broad-based across all three regions.

 

Our people and partners work incredibly hard for our brand and I would like to
thank each and every one of them for their passion and commitment."

 

Ije Nwokorie, Chief Executive Officer

 

Q3 trading:

 

The revenue performance reflects the challenging consumer environment and our
continued focus on improving the quality of our revenues by reducing clearance
activity and taking a disciplined approach to promotions in Direct to Consumer
("DTC"), thereby increasing the full price mix.

 

·      Full price* DTC revenues up 2% YTD, with a particularly strong
performance in Americas

·      Q3 Group revenue down 2.7% CC (-3.1% reported) to £253m; YTD
Group revenue down 0.7% to £580m CC

·      Q3 wholesale revenue up 9.5% CC (9.3% reported); YTD wholesale
revenue up 4.2% CC (3.3% reported)

·      Q3 DTC revenue down 6.5% CC (-7.0% reported); YTD DTC revenue
down 3.3% CC (-4.6% reported)

 

 

In Americas we delivered 2% revenue growth, with DTC up 1% and wholesale up 6%
(all CC), continuing the trends seen in the first half, leading to overall YTD
growth of 4.5% CC. The DTC performance was driven by growth in Americas
Retail, with Ecommerce flat as we reduced clearance activity and returned to a
normal promotional calendar, as previously guided.

 

In EMEA overall pairs in Q3 were slightly up, against a consumer backdrop
which continues to be challenging. We saw a channel shift to our wholesale
partners in Q3, who took a larger proportion of sales in the promotional
season compared to our DTC channels where we took a disciplined approach to
promotions, in line with our strategy. This was particularly the case in
Germany and the UK, which together accounted for just over half of EMEA
revenue YTD. EMEA wholesale revenues were up 13% with DTC revenue down 12%
(both CC). EMEA revenue overall declined 6% CC in Q3.

 

In APAC we delivered wholesale revenue growth of 8% and DTC revenue declined
by 6%, resulting in overall revenue decline of 3% (all CC). We have materially
reduced promotional activity in Ecommerce and are pleased with the growth in
full price DTC revenues. We saw continued strong growth in South Korea.

 

One of our FY26 objectives is to open in new markets through a capital-light
structure, and during the period we extended our distribution agreement with
our partner Crosby in Latin America to now include Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru
and Uruguay (in addition to Mexico, Argentina, Paraguay and Chile as
previously announced). We are pleased with the performance in this region to
date.

 

Strategic summary:

We are continuing to make good progress with all four Levers for Growth and
are on track with our strategic objectives for FY26:

·      Reducing the reliance on discounted pairs in Americas Wholesale

·      Driving pairs growth in product families such as Buzz, Zebzag and
Lowell

·      Opening in new markets through a capital-light structure

·      Simplifying our operating model, with the objective of being
consumer-first and operating closer to individual markets

 

Outlook:

For FY26 as a whole we expect revenue on a constant currency basis to be
broadly flat, as we focus on the quality of our revenue and profitability in
order to enable us to deliver revenue growth in future years.

 

We are comfortable with market expectations for FY26 PBT, which will result in
significant year-on-year PBT growth.

 

As part of the first half results in November, based on spot rates at that
time, we guided to a currency impact of a c.£10m headwind to Group revenue
and a benefit to Adjusted PBT of c.£2m. FX continues to be volatile; based on
current spot rates we now expect a c.£15m headwind to Group revenue and a
broadly neutral impact on Adjusted PBT.

 

Revenue performance by quarter:

 

 Year on year change (unaudited)  Q1               Q2               Q3               FY26 YTD
                                  Reported  CC     Reported  CC     Reported  CC     Reported  CC
 Group Revenue (£m)               110       114    212       214    251       253    573       580
 Change year-on-year              -2.3%     0.7%   0.0%      0.9%   -3.1%     -2.7%  -1.8%     -0.7%

 By channel: Change year-on-year
 Ecommerce                        -4.9%     -1.8%  -9.1%     -7.7%  -6.8%     -6.1%  -7.0%     -5.7%
 Retail                           -2.0%     0.7%   7.7%      8.7%   -7.3%     -7.0%  -1.9%     -0.8%
 DTC                              -3.3%     -0.5%  -0.7%     0.5%   -7.0%     -6.5%  -4.6%     -3.3%
 Wholesale(1)                     0.7%      4.2%   0.6%      1.2%   9.3%      9.5%   3.3%      4.2%

 By region: Change year-on-year
 EMEA                             -7.9%     -7.2%  0.4%      -1.3%  -3.0%     -6.0%  -2.6%     -4.5%
 Americas                         5.7%      11.9%  -0.1%     3.4%   -1.6%     2.2%   0.3%      4.5%
 APAC                             -2.8%     0.0%   -1.2%     2.7%   -7.4%     -2.7%  -4.3%     -0.4%

 

1.         Wholesale revenue including distributor customers.

 

* "Full price" refers to product sold through our own DTC channels at full
price and this also includes the use of targeted welcome codes such as % off
for new customers and student discount. "Markdown" or "Clearance" refers to
discounts on seasonal products.

 

Investor and analyst conference call

Ije Nwokorie, CEO and Giles Wilson, CFO will host a conference call and
Q&A for investors and analysts at 08:30 GMT on 27 January 2026. This can
be accessed via https://www.drmartensplc.com (https://www.drmartensplc.com) .

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enquiries

Investors and analysts
 

Bethany Barnes, Director of Investor Relations
and                                    Bethany.Barnes@drmartens.com
(mailto:Bethany.Barnes@drmartens.com)

Corporate Communications
                                     +44 7825 187465
 
 
 

 

Louise Durey, Investor Relations and
                               Louise.Durey@drmartens.com

Corporate Communications Senior Manager
 
 

 
 

Press
 

Sodali & Co
 
     drmartens@client.sodali.com

Rob Greening
 
 +44 207 250 1446

Ludo
Baynham-Herd

 

 

About Dr. Martens

Dr. Martens is an iconic British footwear brand founded in Northamptonshire,
England. Its first silhouette, the 1460 boot - named after the date it was
produced - rolled off the production line on 1st April 1960. Originally chosen
by workers for their air-cushioned comfort and durability, "Docs" or "DM's"
were later adopted by musicians and subcultural pioneers who took them from
the street to the global stage.

Over six decades later, Dr. Martens operates in more than 60 countries and
employs around 3,700 people. The company continues to honour the brand's
heritage through its 'Made in England' footwear, manufactured at its original
Northamptonshire factory, while meeting global demand from multiple
high-quality production sites across Asia. All our products are made with an
unwavering commitment to craft, combined with innovative techniques.

A brand built to put a bounce in the step of those who stand out from the
crowd, Dr. Martens is available through Direct-to-Consumer (Retail and
Ecommerce) and Wholesale channels. The brand's collections range from its
Original silhouettes - The Icons such as the 1460 boot, 1461 shoe, 2976
Chelsea boot, and Adrian loafer - to modern franchises like the Zebzag, Buzz,
and Lowell. The lineup also includes an extensive range of sandals, a
dedicated Kids collection, and a curated selection of bags, small leather
goods, and accessories. Every Dr. Martens collection reflects craftsmanship,
heritage, timeless style, comfort, and versatility. Having transcended
generations, the brand stays as relevant today as it was at its inception. Its
signature yellow welt stitching, grooved sole edges, and scripted "With
Bouncing Soles" heel loops remain iconic symbols recognised around the world.

Dr. Martens plc (DOCS.L) is listed on the main market of the London Stock
Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 index.

For more information, visit www.drmartens.com or www.drmartensplc.com

 

 

Cautionary statement relating to forward-looking statements

Announcements, presentations to investors, or other documents or reports filed
with or furnished to the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and any other written
information released, or oral statements made, to the public in the future by
or on behalf of Dr. Martens plc and its group companies ("the Group"), may
contain forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements give the Group's current expectations or forecasts
of future events. An investor can identify these statements by the fact that
they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They use words
such as 'aim', 'ambition', 'anticipate', 'estimate', 'expect', 'intend',
'will', 'project', 'plan', 'believe', 'target' and other words and terms of
similar meaning in connection with any discussion of future operating or
financial performance. In particular, these include statements relating to
future actions, future performance or results of current and anticipated
products, expenses, the outcome of contingencies such as legal proceedings,
dividend payments and financial results. Other than in accordance with its
legal or regulatory obligations (including under the Market Abuse Regulation,
the UK Listing Rules and the Disclosure and Transparency Rules of the
Financial Conduct Authority), the Group undertakes no obligation to update any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future
events or otherwise. The reader should, however, consult any additional
disclosures that the Group may make in any documents which it publishes and/or
files with the LSE. All readers, wherever located, should take note of these
disclosures. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that any particular
expectation will be met and investors are cautioned not to place undue
reliance on the forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements are subject to assumptions, inherent risks and
uncertainties, many of which relate to factors that are beyond the Group's
control or precise estimate. The Group cautions investors that a number of
important factors, including those referred to in this document, could cause
actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any
forward-looking statement. Any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf
of the Group speak only as of the date they are made and are based upon the
knowledge and information available to the Directors on the date of this
report.

 

 

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