Dr Martens has recorded an uplift in sales in the lead up to Christmas driven by its direct-to-consumer (DTC) business.

Dr Martens

Dr Martens has been repositioning its inventory towards its DTC business

The boots specialist said revenues for the three-month period to December 31 were “in line with expectations”, up 11% year on year and 21% on a two-year basis.

Its DTC sales grew 33% over the quarter, now representing 64% of the overall mix.

Dr Martens said this was largely driven by its ecommerce sales, but that it also saw strong recovery in store revenues.

Ecommerce revenues rose 16% in the three-month period, while retail sales were up 72% year on year with better conversion rates and higher footfall figures.

The retailer has been repositioning its inventory towards its DTC business to navigate supply chain issues, meaning its wholesale sales were down 14%.

Dr Martens opened 11 new stores over the period with a focus on Italy and the US. 

Chief executive Kenny Wilson said: “We delivered a good performance during our largest quarter with DTC revenues growing 33% versus Q3 last year to 64% revenue mix. 

“We continued to put our long-term custodian approach at the heart of decision making and proactively managed the business against a changing Covid backdrop, prioritising the higher-margin DTC channels in line with our strategy. 

“We remain confident in achieving market expectations for the full year and I would like to thank everyone at Dr Martens for their exceptional hard work and dedication.”

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