Few brands can claim to be worn in both museums and mosh pits. But today, Dr Martens risks losing its grip: falling revenues, shrinking profits – and a high-stakes plan to evolve beyond boots into sandals, bags and new silhouettes.

The 2025 financials show the strain. Revenue has fallen from over £1bn in 2023 to £788m. Adjusted EBIT has more than halved to £61m, while profit after tax dropped from £181m in 2022 to just £5m.

And yet, the share price jumped 20% when CEO Ije Nwokorie – an ex-Apple marketing exec – laid out his strategy.

Nwokorie has been with Dr Martens for two years, first as chief brand officer and then, since January 2025, as CEO. His appointment was unusual but refreshing. Too often, when businesses hit turbulence, boards default to leaders who cut costs and chase efficiencies (think Diageo, BrewDog, Yum! Brands). Here, they’ve put a brand builder in charge.

I watched his June 2025 strategic update. It was slick, confident and neatly packaged. But I’ve written those presentations myself – as head of strategic delivery at Thomas Cook – and I know how different reality can look behind closed doors. Slides always look orderly. Execution rarely does.

Dr Martens moves away from DTC focus in pursuit of new customers

Category expansion

Nwokorie’s vision is clear: turn Dr Martens from a one-product brand into a broader lifestyle business. Naturally, this brings both opportunity and risk. The question is whether a heritage brand built around one iconic product can stretch without snapping its identity.

His plan rests on four levers:

1. More categories: Boots made the brand. But future growth has to come from more than lace-ups. New silhouettes like the Buzz sole attracted 56% of sales from first-time buyers of the brand, according to Nwokorie’s strategy presentation. That’s promising – though without volumes disclosed, it’s hard to judge whether it was a breakthrough or a blip.
2. New narrative: The ‘rebellious self-expression’ positioning connected with punks and grunge kids, but later became more limiting than liberating. The new narrative – ‘with bouncing soles’ – leans into joyful, product-led storytelling. Paired with reuse, repair and trade-in schemes, the brand tries to tie heritage to sustainability.
3. Deeper insights: A new data platform sharpens visibility of buying habits and lifetime value. The focus is shifting to loyal customers rather than discount-hunters – and on matching inventory more closely to demand.
4. Operational discipline: CFO Giles Wilson has cut SKUs by 45% in two years, according to Nwokorie, rebuilt the global supply chain and delivered £25m in cost savings. The result: gross margins remain at around 65% (among the best in footwear) and the business holds £156m in cash.

Category expansion can work. Canada Goose began as a parka company and has successfully moved into knitwear, footwear and luggage – with sales up 22% year on year in the quarter ending in June 2025.

In ‘footwear-first’ businesses, few evolutions rival Christian Louboutin. Once a pure women’s shoe brand that was estimated in 2012 to generate around $300m, it has expanded into men’s shoes and leather goods under CEO Alexis Mourot. Those categories now represent 45% of sales, with the company now aiming to surpass €1bn in revenue – around a fourfold increase.

But there are plenty of cautionary tales too. Mercedes-Benz pushed its premium badge into pickups with the X-Class. The logic was sound, but sales never took off – fewer than 20,000 in 2019 – and the model was pulled by 2020.

Samsonite tried outerwear, reasoning that travel could stretch into fashion. On paper, it fit. In practice, customers didn’t buy it. Sales tanked, confusion set in and the line was dropped.

Dr Martens restructures marketing team to align with product focus

Can the brand be more than boots?

Some leaps flop, others take off. For now, Dr Martens sits somewhere in between. The new Weekender bag hints at potential, but only consistency will show whether it can fuel real growth.

Boots still make up 57% of sales, Nwokorie told investors, down from around 80%. At first glance, that suggests diversification. In reality, with overall sales down over 20% over the last two years, according to the 2025 financial results, it may say more about shrinking boot demand than new category growth.

This is the brand’s central tension. If boots fade and new categories don’t resonate, Dr Martens risks being stranded between worlds – no longer the boot icon, but not yet a lifestyle contender.

It’s telling that shares jumped 20% after Nwokorie’s presentation, even as profits fell. It shows that investors are pricing belief, not fundamentals. They’re betting on brand equity and the credibility of a seasoned marketer to unlock new growth.

If boots fade and new categories don’t resonate, Dr Martens risks being stranded between worlds.

Consumers, however, don’t buy belief. They buy products. Their choice isn’t between EBITDA margins and CRM penetration – it’s between lacing up a pair of Docs or choosing something else.

The brand still carries a strong legacy – tied to music, rebellion, self-expression. But culture is slippery. If storytelling drifts or quality falters, customers will quickly walk away.

Wilson has given Nwokorie the financial stability to execute, and new hires – chief brand officer Carla Murphy (ex-Adidas), and Paul Zadoff (ex-Nike) as president of the Americas – bring depth and experience where it matters most.

The question remains: will Dr Martens tread new ground as a lifestyle brand, or completely lose its footing?

The brand has the cultural weight and the cash to attempt reinvention. What it lacks is proof that the world wants more than its boots. And that proof won’t come from boardrooms, no matter how convincing the plan looks to investors.

Dr Martens’ future will ultimately be decided on the streets – when a new generation laces up a pair of Docs, or carries one of its bags, and feels the same emotional pull as generations before.

John Miller is co-owner and CFO of B2C brand tracker Traction.