Soaring costs put Dr Martens in a strong position: the British brand raises the price of its classic boot to £169
Dr. Martens is raising the price of his boots for a second year as he battles soaring costs for personnel, energy and supplies.
The British bootmaker, whose classic lace-up design costs £159 a pair, will add £10 to the price.
It came as its shares tumbled 22.7%, or 65p, to 221.7p as it warned higher costs and a slowdown in demand would hurt profits.
Rising costs: Iconic British shoemaker Dr Martens has hiked prices for the second consecutive year
Dr Martens said pressure on buyers had intensified in the six months to September 30, with sales growing “slower than expected”.
Profit fell 5% to £57.9m.
The shares are down 42% since listing on the London Stock Exchange at 370p in January 2021.
It soared from its debut, which followed a brand transformation from the height of fashion for punk rockers 40 years ago, to a staple for models such as Gigi Hadid and pop stars such than Rita Ora.
Victoria Scholar, chief investment officer at Interactive Investor, said: “Inflation pressures and slowing consumption seem to be catching up with them.”
“He is hoping for an increase in sales around Christmas, but from January that could prove more difficult.”
But boss Kenny Wilson said he was “well positioned for future growth”.
He said customers weren’t put off by higher prices and held back by forecasts that sales growth this year would be in the “high teens”.
He said: “It’s the strongest the brand has ever been.”
“We opened 21 stores, increased marketing spend and paid a high cost of living bonus to a large portion of the staff.”
