One of Barcelona's most appreciated shopping areas, the scarce 70 meters long of Cucurulla street that connect Portal de l'Àngel avenue with Portaferrissa street, is the place chosen by the Dr. Martens brand to establish its first store in Spain.
The British manufacturer of the iconic boots and urban footwear for all ages has chosen for its direct foray into the Spanish market, where until now it was distributed in multi-brand establishments and online sales, a 170 square meter premises that had been occupied for three decades by the American textile firm Levi's.
The brand's footprint in the city will be even stronger because it has also rented spaces at number 51 Pontevedra street, in the Barceloneta neighborhood, to install the company's commercial offices in the country and a showroom for industry professionals and purchasing managers of multi-brand establishments that will continue to market the products.
The urban icon of the 60s of the last century, popularized by multicultural skinheads and ska music lovers who dressed in boots that until then were only quality and comfortable footwear for workers, is today a product that creates trends beyond its most classic model, the 1460.
Its arrival in Barcelona with its own store demonstrates how the city has not ceased to be a commercial point of attraction for major international brands despite the impact of the pandemic, comments Domènec Casellas, Head Retail Agency at Cushman & Wakefield, the real estate consultancy that managed the operation. After the widespread halt registered with the outbreak of the coronavirus, from the last quarter of 2020 commercial transactions have recovered and "the market is reactivated," says Casellas.
He explains that, yes, a modification of the conditions that make some of the operations more feasible is observed. Owners have applied significant reductions in rental prices, contracts with variable rents are proliferating more, and many large brands that had innumerable commercial implementations, some of them duplicated on the same street, are reorganizing their commercial network and leaving empty spaces in premium areas. In fact, these circumstances have led to Dr. Martens' landing in Barcelona, since Levi's left the premises to move to Carrer dels Arcs in a space previously occupied by Desigual and they have managed to negotiate the rental price of the premises on Carrer Cucurulla with good conditions.
Despite the pandemic, the city has not ceased to be a point of attraction for big brands and Dr. Martens will open its first store in Spain in Barcelona"Very good opportunities are being generated for the installation of new brands in the city that are looking for more suitable spaces or more appropriate locations, but also for those that are already present, but want to improve the size, location or price of rental rents," specifies Casellas.
Changes in the real estate market have also determined that Dr. Martens is looking for premises in Madrid, specifically in the Fuencarral neighborhood, to open a second store in Spain before the end of 2021. This will be the firm's second foray into the state capital where it landed in 2016 with an ephemeral experience. It opened a pop up store between November of that year and February 2017, to cover the Christmas and sales campaign, at number 10 Plaza Pedro Zerolo, in the center of Madrid, with a commercial area of 50 square meters.
Dr. Martens' new and privileged enclave in Barcelona will open its doors next Thursday, September 9. Its interest in the city coincided with the company's decision to directly take the reins of its business in Spain. According to Modaes.es, until relatively recently, the brand, which has been owned by the investment fund Permira since 2014, worked with the distributor Comercial Udra, the commercial and fashion division of the Sanjosé business group, also a representative of firms such as Fred Perry, Hunter or Teva.
Reductions have been applied to rental prices, contracts with variable rents are proliferating, and many brands that had countless commercial implementations are reorganizing their network and leaving spaces in premium areas.This is one of the strategic changes implemented by the footwear and accessories manufacturer in 2021, but not the only one.Last January, Permira decided to float about 30% of the capital, at a complicated time due to the economic context, but which was successfully concluded. Permira maintains a majority stake and the Griggs family, founders of the brand, continue with 10% of the capital.
Dr. Martens closed its last fiscal year (last March 31) with a net profit of 35.7 million pounds (41 million euros), 52% less than a year earlier. While sales increased by 15%, to 773 million pounds (899 million euros), thanks to the strong growth of online sales, with an increase of 73%, to represent 30% of the total. The remaining business comes from direct sales and of this, 25% from its own stores, which currently form a network of 130 establishments worldwide. For the current fiscal year, Dr. Martens expects to open between 20 and 25 stores, of which Barcelona and Madrid will be a clear example.