A classic fashionable brand that sells more than 11 million pairs of shoes per year, plans to enter the main market LSE, according to the application at the London Stock Exchange, it will become one of the first this year.
The company does not plan to attract any money during the IPO, the statement said. Paul Mason, Chairman of the Board of Dr Martens, is confident that the proposed IPO "marks an important milestone" for the brand.
"Over the past few years, we have made significant investments in this business to strengthen the team, our activities and position themselves for the next stage of development as a public company," he said.Dr Martens released the first pair of shoes in 1960, these were workers boots with a yellow slit line, a corrugated sole and a black and yellow loop on a heel - the style that the brand is still famous for. The design was adopted by youth culture as a symbol of individual self-expression and the Bunlet spirit.
130 company stores worldwide earned 672 million pounds of sterling (906.9 million dollars) for the year, according to the report on March 31, 2020. Since in 2014 Permira Holdings paid 380 million euros ($ 462 million) for the company, it increased the global presence of the brand, opening new stores and expanding the online trading segment.
Coronavirus restrictions entailed the closure of some brand stores, whereas online sales increased and amounted to near the fifth of the revenue. From March to September 2020, DR Martens revenue increased by 18%, up to 318.2 million pounds sterling. The company said that for these six months sold 700,000 boots more than in the same period a year earlier, increasing sales by 14%.
According to the company, at least 25% of the shares will be available for trade after listing, as it expects to get the right to inclusion in FTSE UK indices.
Dr Martens argues that the company's 60-year-old legacy led to the fact that his "recognizable" boots acquired the cult status of the "canvas for the Bunlet self-expression", and some of the collections were exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum. More than half of the new buyers of the shoes of the DR Martens brand younger than 35 years and most are true to the brand over long years.