Birkenstock’s flotation on the New York Stock Exchange this October may have underwhelmed, but it’s Dr Martens PLC (LSE:DOCS) in London that is really feeling the wear and tear.
Shares of the iconic German-founded British boot brand hit a new all-time low on Monday, taking the FTSE 250 constituent 75% below its 2021 flotation price.
Popular among workers and mall goths alike, Dr Martens went public in the opening weeks of 2021 in what was apparently an eight-times oversubscribed float valuing the group at roughly £3.7 billion.
But subsequent trading conditions have been unfavourable, not least supply-chain constraints brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Supply bottlenecks and tightening margins have persisted since, causing a raft of downgrades among City analysts, while activist investor Sparta Capital has steadily been building a stake in the company.
Barclays analysts today added to the pile of downgrades, knocking Dr Martens down from 'overweight' to 'equal weight' with a price target of 140p against a publication price of 111p.
The bank cited weaker Google trends, macro risk, margin pressures and a wider de-rating of consumer stocks as justifications for the downgrade.
Cost-of-living pressures have surely not helped, with shoppers gravitating towards cheaper options in favour of discretionary and luxury clothing brands.
Footwear stocks, it seems, are getting the boot on both sides of the pond.