The rise, fall and potential rise again of countercultural brand Dr Martens

When the Allied victory was announced in 1945, Germans took the streets in droves. Soldiers and civilians alike took to shops, museums and government buildings to loot, searching for Nazi memorabilia, money and food in the wake of their country’s defeat. One man, Dr Klaus Maerten, declined to participate. Klaus Maertens and Herbert Funk, an engineer who he went into business with to help build the shoe. (Dr Martens) Instead, he walked into a shoemaker and asked to buy some leather. For 60 years Dr Maerten’s creation became a countercultural symbol. But in 2025, its latest financial forecast shows it…