The shoe manufacturer Dr.
Martens - also known as Doc Martens - is considering going public in London.
The roots of the cult boot are in Germany.
London - British
shoe brand Dr.
Martens
, known for its
thick-
soled lace-up boots
, is considering an
IPO
.
There is currently no schedule for this.
The company announced this in
London
.
The company is currently majority-owned by the holding company
Permira
.
The other existing shareholders would also
sell
shares
in an
IPO
.
According to the information, at least a quarter of the
share capital *
by
Dr.
Martens
are available - with the option of an additional 15 percent.
Permira bought
the maker of the striking lace-up boots with yellow stitching in 2014 for £ 300 million (€ 332 million).
The
IPO *
is organized by the US investment banks
Goldman Sachs
and Morgan Stanley, as
WirtschaftsWoche
reported.
Doc Martens: Corona pandemic had a positive impact on business
The
company
sells more than eleven million pairs of
shoes
annually
in over 60 countries and has an annual turnover of 672 million pounds (around 745 million euros).
Online trading now accounts for a fifth of sales.
Managing director Kenny Wilson
sees "significant global growth potential".
Despite the
pandemic
,
Dr.
Martens increased
its
sales
in the second and third quarters last year by 18 percent compared to the previous year to 318 million pounds.
The reason: During the
Corona lockdown *
, the manufacturer's online sales boomed.
The
brand
, which is inextricably linked to the punk movement, was founded in 1947.
On April 1, 1960, the model 1460, which is still popular today, was sold for the first time.
Doc Martens: This is how the boot became a cult
Doc Martens
provides information
on the creation of the
cult shoe
on the brand's own blog
: it was designed by the German doctor and inventor
Klaus Märtens
shortly after the Second World War
.
He suffered from a foot injury and therefore, together with the Luxembourg chemical engineer named Dr.
Funck made an air-cushioned sole for shoes.
In 1967 Pete Townshend of the rock group “The Who” finally wore the culture boot, which made it popular with young people after soldiers and workers.
* Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.