Dr. Martens (DOCS) 72.1pLoss to date: 21.6%In mid-December 2023 we said the knock-down share price of iconic footwear brand Dr. Martens (DOCS) was too tempting to resist despite the company delivering four profit warnings.Our rationale was simple ? either the self-inflicted operational issues would be fixed by the current management or the business would be taken over by an opportunistic predator

Stock prices in London closed lower on Tuesday as hopes continued fading for three US Federal Reserve interest rate cuts this year, and as tensions between Iran and Israel added to investors? fears.The FTSE 100 index closed down 145.17 points, 1.8%, at 7,820.36. The FTSE 250 ended down 354.35 points, 1.8%, at 19,344.54, and the AIM All-Share closed down 12.00 points, down 1.6%, at 738.28.The Cboe

Shares down 59% over the past yearCEO Kenny Wilson to step downChallenging performance in the USShares in Dr. Martens (DOCS) fell 31% at one point to 66p in morning trading - a new 52-week low - as the iconic British footwear brand issued a profit warning.The Camden Town-headquartered company said US wholesale revenue ?is anticipated to be double-digit down year-on-year,? adding ?the decline in wh

Equities in London were firmly in the red Tuesday afternoon, with market confidence knocked by geopolitical tensions and US interest rate concerns, as a hat-trick of cuts by the Federal Reserve this year looks an increasingly distant prospect.The interest rate picture in the UK was muddied by the latest batch of jobless data. The unemployment rate rose, though pay growth remained sticky, giving th

Nelson Peltz?s failure to get a seat on the board of directors at Disney (DIS:NYSE) has raised the question: are activist investors losing their touch?Peltz might have enjoyed success with earlier campaigns at Kraft Heinz (KHC:NASDAQ) and Wendy?s (WEN:NASDAQ), yet he sits alongside big names such as Pershing Square?s (PSH) Bill Ackman where campaigns have not gone their way.Peltz wanted to shake u

Full-year results from Greggs (GRG) on 5 March painted a picture of a company doing so well in its domestic territory that one has to ask when it might export the successful business model abroad.Greggs? profits and market share are growing, it is investing in manufacturing and distribution expansion, and shareholders are getting a special dividend. While the company is confident it can add at lea

The retail sector accounts for £104 billion of the FTSE 350 index by value of its 22 constituents, making it of significant importance to the UK stock market and to any investor with exposure to UK equities.The fortunes of retailers can tell us about the state of the consumer and in turn provide clues on economic activity. Therefore, even if you do not have exposure to individual stocks in this s

Footwear firm saw ?softer? festive salesUSA business still challengedRelief as guidance reiteratedIconic British footwear brand Dr. Martens (DOCS) was in demand on Thursday, shares in the FTSE 250 retailer booted 7% higher to 80.7p after it swerved another profit warning despite a difficult Christmas for purveyors of bigger ticket items.The Camden Town-headquartered company saw softer December sal

Nearly 4,500 UK retailers in ?critical? distressOnline-only players under pressureFailures likely as ?debt storm breaks?According to the latest Red Flag Alert data from Begbies Traynor (BEG:AIM), almost 4,500 UK retailers are now in ?critical financial distress? as poor consumer confidence, sticky inflation and higher interest rates force consumers to pull in their horns ahead of Christmas.New dat

Iconic British footwear brand Dr. Martens (DOCS) has been a disappointing investment since coming to the market in early 2021, with the shares losing around 75% of their value after delivering four profit warnings in the past year.The investment case is straightforward - either the self-inflicted operational issues are fixed by the current management, or the business will be taken over by an oppor

Third quarter results beat forecastsPositive start to Christmas seasonTepid Q4 outlook weighs on sentimentOne of the athleisure industry?s star turns, yoga lifestyle giant Lululemon (LULU:NASDAQ), delivered forecast-beating results (7 December) for the third quarter to 31 October and flagged a pleasing start to the Christmas shopping season.Why then, did shares in the yoga-pants-to-belt-bags selle

We are now a little more than a fortnight away from Christmas Day with TV adverts pushing festive products, high streets adorned with Christmas decorations and shops flush with discount offers.The so-called 'Golden Quarter' including Black Friday is the most hotly contested period of the year amongst retailers and those that suffer disappointing sales or resort to overly-promotional strategies typ

Major indices make biggest gains since JanuaryDriven by hopes that inflation and interest rates have peakedMid-cap FTSE 250 beats blue chip indexNovember was a great month for risk assets with major stock indices racking up their biggest gains since January. The German Dax was the leading European index, gaining close to 10% while the UK blue chip FTSE 100 was a laggard notching up a 2% gain.The d

Weaker-than-expected Q3 salesUS consumer backdrop deterioratesDr. Martens pulls FY25 guidanceInvestors put the boot into Dr. Martens (DOCS) after the iconic footwear brand downgraded its year-to-March 2024 EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) guidance once again and withdrew previous guidance for high single digit sales growth in full year 2025.The shares slumped m

After a concerted sell-off last month, stocks started October on the front foot with a string of gains taking the S&P 500 index back up 2.8% over the past five days.The rally was led by familiar mega-cap technology names, with Alphabet (GOOG:NASDAQ) up 3.2%, Amazon.com (AMZN:NASDAQ) up 5.1%, Apple (AAPL:NASDAQ) up 3.3%, Microsoft (MSFT:NASDAQ) up 3.7% and Nvidia (NVDA:NASDAQ) up 5.1%.Despite an in

Shares jump on reports an activist investor is building a stakePressure on management to fix US distribution problemsProfit margins expected to be lower in current financial yearShares in iconic footwear brand Dr Martens (DOCS) are bouncing back after being in the doldrums since problems emerged last year with its US operations. The shares started rebounding in early July after a reassuring tradin

Dr.Martens CEO makes big purchaseGriffin director cashes in on strong share pricePolar Capital CEO Gavin Rochussen dumps shares from schemeCEO of footwear brand Dr. Martens (DOCS) Kenny Wilson has bought 309,948 shares at 129p for a total value of £399,999 on 17 July.The purchase comes after the company reported 'milestone' revenue of £1 billion on 1 June up 10% with brights spots of trading in

Pre-tax profits drop 26% in difficult yearOngoing investment to hold back marginsBut issues in America are being fixedDr. Martens (DOCS) received another kicking from investors today, the shares booted 10% lower to 141p despite the iconic footwear brand reporting a 10% rise in sales to reach the £1 billion milestone for the first time in the year to March 2023.Unfortunately, pre-tax profits tumbl

- Shares collapse on wave of selling- Damage to earnings largely self-inflicted- No quick rebound in sales predictedIconic footwear brand Dr. Martens (DOCS:AIM) unexpectedly revealed sales and earnings for the year to March would be substantially lower than forecast due to a foul-up in its US distribution operations.The shares plunged 25% to a new all-time low of 157p on higher than average volume

Associated British FoodsCan fashion retailer Primark deliver a Christmas gift to investors?Grocery brands-to-fashion conglomerate Associated British Foods' (ABF) forthcoming trading update on 24 January will be closely watched by the market as its budget clothing chain Primark becomes one of the last major retailers to deliver its festive report.Retailers' Christmas updates have been better t