Wollaston bootmaker Dr Martens shares tumble following profit warning after 'unseasonably warm weather'

A pair of Dr Martens boots being made in Wollaston

The shoe firm has been based in Northamptonshire since it was founded in its original iteration in 1901

World-famous shoe brand Dr Martens, based in Wollaston saw its shares drop sharply after it issued a profit warning, saying its income had been hit by unseasonably warm weather.

The firm, that traces its roots back to the Griggs family which began making boots in the village in 1901, warned that ‘a bottleneck’ at its new Los Angeles distribution centre had affected profits.

In a statement, Dr Martens said that, although demand for its much-loved footwear had remained ‘resilient’, US trading had been affected by the issues in LA as well as the hot weather which had a negative effect on sales.

Shares dropped to their lowest ever level following yesterday’s (January 19) announcement. The retailer warned that its annual profits could be reduced by between £16m and £25m.

It now expects earnings to be £250 to 260 million for this financial year, compared to a figure of £263 million pounds in 2021/22.

The statement said they had very recently identified an issue at the distribution centre. It added: “A bottleneck at the LA DC was created by a combination of people and process issues: -

“Inventory was transferred from our Portland distribution centre to our new 3PL distribution centre in LA faster than was planned originally

“We accepted requests from some US wholesalers to store direct shipments at our LA DC. Inbound shipping times from our factories to our LA DC improved significantly resulting in inventory arriving more quickly than anticipated

“This bottleneck is significantly impacting throughput, limiting our capacity to meet wholesale demand and our quarter four shipment forecasts.”

The firm said it had now opened three temporary warehouses close to the LA distribution centre to try to alleviate the issues. It said it had flown its most experienced supply-chain staff to LA to help implement its plans.

Dr. Martens was founded in 1960 in Northamptonshire by the Griggs family and who spottted an advert in magazine for German Dr Klaus Maertens’ unique ‘Airwair’ boots. They obtained an exclusive licence to make the boots in Wollaston.

The firm listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange on January 29, 2021.