Sales increase despite pandemic: cult brand Dr. Martens is going public

Monday, January 11, 2021

Sales increase despite pandemic
Cult brand Dr. Martens is going public

The distinctive lace-up boots with yellow stitching from the cult brand Dr. Martens have been popular with teenagers and punks for ages. In the new year, a financial investor has a lot to do with the company – and is preparing an IPO in London. Analysts believe the group has a lot.

The British cult shoe brand Dr. Martens is about to be listed on the London Stock Exchange. The company, which has been owned by financial investor Permira for more than seven years, announced plans to go public without giving an exact date. According to financial circles, Dr. Martens will be the first stock market newbie of the year in London.

The company, founded in 1947, is valued at more than two billion pounds (around 2.2 billion euros), it said. In 2013, Permira paid the equivalent of 380 million euros for the brand with the characteristic rubber sole and yellow stitching. Under the aegis of the financial investor, sales had increased by 20 to 30 percent per year in recent years thanks to an internationalization strategy. In the 2019/20 financial year (as of the end of March), sales were 672 million euros.

With the IPO Permira wants to initiate its exit, from the beginning at least 25 percent of the shares should be in free float. The plan is to only sell shares in the investor, there is no capital increase. The IPO is organized by the US investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.

The "Docs" are traditionally particularly popular with young people and punks. However, Permira recently tried to address new customer groups. The cult boots have German roots: The doctor Klaus Märtens designed them shortly after the Second World War when he suffered from a foot injury. He cut the air-cushioned sole from rubber stocks of the German Air Force. The eight lacing holes and the yellow seams are characteristic of the boots. Initially asked by workers and soldiers, she made Pete Townshend of the rock group "The Who" popular with young people in 1966. In 1960 Märtens and his partner Herbert Funck sold the brand to the traditional British company R Griggs.