Dr Martens says boot prices will rise to cover increasing costs

Dr Martens is to measurement up the terms of its boots by 6%, arsenic it says the outgo of labour, vigor and supplies, including the bouncy soles and leather, has risen.

The Northamptonshire-based footwear radical volition summation prices for the 2nd twelvemonth successful a enactment connected the classical boot, which presently costs astir £159, adding £10 to the price. The emergence volition travel adjacent autumn to bespeak higher accumulation costs that the institution has present locked successful implicit the people of adjacent year.

Announcing its half-year results, Dr Martens revealed a disappointing 5% autumn successful pretax profits successful the six months to 30 September contempt a 13% emergence successful sales, arsenic the institution said it had invested much successful marketing, unit and caller stores.

The steadfast said astir £10m of income expected during the play were delayed due to the fact that of strikes astatine the larboard successful Felixstowe and unit shortages astatine its organisation centre successful the Netherlands.

Kenny Wilson, the main enforcement of Dr Martens, said helium was “very assured astir our outlook for Christmas”.

He said the radical was inactive seeing ostentation successful the outgo of supplies “across the board”, from the oil-based merchandise utilized to marque its soles, to leather and energy.

“We volition lone enactment prices up to screen inflation. This twelvemonth we enactment prices up for the archetypal clip successful 2 years and volition screen ostentation adjacent year,” Wilson added.

Staff costs are rising, and Dr Martens is offering a £500 outgo of surviving bonus – paid retired implicit October and November – to astir 2,000 of its 3,500 workers astir the world. The outgo volition spell to unit who enactment astatine slightest 20 hours a week and gain little than the equivalent of £45,000 a twelvemonth – from the UK mill and caput bureau to buying teams successful the US, Europe, South Korea and Bangladesh.

Wilson said the institution was making the outgo arsenic its workers were facing “very pugnacious levels of inflation” astir the world: “At the extremity of the day, radical are the differentiator. We person a highly engaged workforce and wanted to amusement we cared for radical who enactment for Dr Martens, and actions talk louder than words.”

Shares dived astir 24% arsenic the institution warned of “variable trading” successful caller weeks, partially due to the fact that of mild autumn upwind successful the UK and Europe, and said that nett margins would instrumentality a hit.

John Stevenson, a retail expert astatine the brokers Peel Hunt, said the figures indicated “some interest for apparel stocks into highest trading, reflecting those higher banal levels and adverse upwind patterns”.