Dr. Martens (LSE:DOCS) swung to an adjusted pre-tax loss of £13.7m in the first half, deeper than the £9.4m loss a year earlier, as group revenue fell 9.2% at constant currency to £290.4m.
The London-listed footwear brand, known for its leather boots and now pursuing a consumer-first strategy, said the decline was driven by weakness in its core boots category, hit by an exceptionally hot summer, combined with the disruption of planned changes to its direct-to-consumer (DTC) proposition.
Boots revenue fell 20% and accounted for 44% of first-half sales, down from 49% a year earlier, with the wider boots market described as weak.
Shoes grew 1% to make up 41% of revenue, and sandals rose 5% on the back of the hot weather and targeted price adjustments.
"The weakness in boots combined with the impact of the planned critical changes to our DTC proposition means that the H1 performance we're announcing today is disappointing," said chief executive Ije Nwokorie, adding that trading in the key weeks ahead "will be crucial to determining our full year outturn".
Gross margin held steady at 65.3%, with cost of goods control and average selling price gains offsetting channel mix pressure.
Reported pre-tax loss narrowed to £8.5m from £11m, helped by £7.2m of exceptional items including £8.7m of US tariff-related income tied to prior IEEPA costs.
By market, the United States, the group's largest market, fell 5.1% at constant currency, with wholesale outperforming DTC, while the UK dropped 21.3% at constant currency, described as below plan amid a weak consumer backdrop and soft boots sales.
Germany, Austria and Switzerland (DACH) and Japan were both broadly flat, down 2.3% and 2.5% respectively at constant currency, while other managed markets fell 12.9% at constant currency as strength in South Korea and China was outweighed by weakness in France, Italy and Spain.
Net bank debt excluding leases stood at £158.9m, broadly in line with £154.3m a year earlier, against the £69.7m reported at the FY26 year-end in May.
The interim dividend was held at 0.85p, in line with the group's policy of setting it at one-third of the prior year's total payout.
In late September, Dr. Martens launched its "With Bouncing Soles" global brand platform alongside a refreshed ecommerce site across the US and major European markets over the summer, built around the three words stitched into every heel loop since 1960.
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The company said its Craft Curators consumer segment, the primary target of the new platform, grew its mix by 7 percentage points year-on-year, while the first wave of redesigned Brand Centres opened in Paris, New York and Munich in recent weeks, with a Los Angeles opening imminent.
October group revenue showed signs of improvement against a weak September but remained broadly in line with the quarter's mid-teens percentage year-on-year decline, with business-to-business orders unwinding prior shipment-timing distortions while DTC continued to be dragged down by boots.
Management said November, December and early January, spanning Black Friday, Christmas and the post-Christmas sale period, are crucial to the full-year outturn, leaving "a wide range of outcomes in both revenue and PBT terms for the year as a whole".
As of 11 November, sell-side consensus stood at £777m for revenue and £65.7m for adjusted pre-tax profit.