Dr.Martens says warehouse headache led to disappointing revenue rise as hunt for new CFO begins
Dr.Martens posted a small rise in revenues for the fourth quarter as operational issues in its US warehouse continued to impact earnings.
The boot maker said that for the period total revenue grew just six per cent as it spent time resolving bottleneck issues at its headquarters in LA , which impacted its American wholesale channel from December.
During the period, Dr.Martens also reported that wholesale was down four percent as the London- listed retailer was forced to open temporary warehouses as the issue was being resolved.
As a result the brand said it expects FY23 EBITDA to be around £245m due to higher costs at our LA DC and also expects to report a “lower wholesale revenue”.
Despite this, the shoe brand said that direct to consumer retail grew 36 per cent and ecommerce also grew eight per cent.
“We continue to adopt a custodian mindset, taking decisions in the best long-term interests of all our stakeholders, and I believe firmly in the DOCS strategy, the continued strength of the Dr. Martens brand and the medium to long-term growth potential of the business,” Kenny Wilson, chief executive officer at Dr.Martens said.
Dr.Martens, which has seven stand alone stores in London, also announced the departure of longstanding chief financial officer Jon Mortimore, who is stepping down following seven years at the brand.
During his tenure, Mortimore led the company through its initial public offering (IPO) in January 2021 and oversaw revenue growth from £230m to £1bn – the hunt for his successor is now in full swing.
“I will be retiring once my successor is in place but until then, I will continue to support Dr. Martens in my role as CFO,” Mortimore said.