Business Analysis of Dr. Martens

Report and Reflection

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
PART 1: Business Analysis.............................................................................................................3
PESTLE Analysis of Dr. Martens...............................................................................................3
SWOT Analysis of Dr. Martens..................................................................................................5
Business Problems at Dr. Martens and Recommended Solution................................................6
PART 2: Reflection on the Learning Experience............................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
The business environment in which a business organisation operates in is a multi-
dimensional, complex environment that keeps changes frequently based on various internal and
external forces that are present within the business environment (Hamilton and Webster, 2018).
This report assesses the external and internal factors present within the business environment and
problems of business organisation Dr. Martens, which is a British clothing and footwear brand
that operates from its headquarters in Northamptonshire, UK. Dr. Martens was founded in 1947,
an astonishing 73 years ago and operates primarily within the footwear industries. Though the
early 2000s were not kind to Dr. Martens’s operations, expansion of its operations to Asia have
significantly increased Dr. Martens’s productivity and profitability in the following years.
PART 1: Business Analysis
There are present multiple internal and external forces that can have immense impact on
the performance, efficiency, productivity and profitability of a business organisation such as Dr.
Martens. These factors can provide Dr. Martens with numerous opportunities to grow and
expand business operations in addition to threats which have the potential to jeopardise the
operations and productivity of the Dr. Martens. Based upon the case study provided, it is evident
that Dr. Martens have been able to increase their operational profits by 70% through the
introduction of vegan range of products, but Dr. Martens can further improve their productivity
and profitability by thoroughly analysing the business environment in which it operates in
(Prajogo, 2016). In order to evaluate the external forces in the business environment which can
impact Dr. Martens’s operations and functions, the report performs PESTLE analysis for the
organisation.
PESTLE Analysis of Dr. Martens
The PESTLE analysis is an analysis of various political, economic, social, technological,
legal and environment factors that can influence Dr. Martens operations. These are as follows:
Political Factors: The political instability currently present in UK due to Brexit can have
immense impact on the operations, productivity and profitability of Dr. Martens. Though the
exact changes to trading and taxing laws post Brexit are still contentiously debated by analysts

and economists, they still haven’t been explicitly announced to the public, adding to the
confusion. Brexit can have a positive impact on Dr. Martens’s operations and functions as it will
scrap complex and opaque international trading laws of UK and replace them with transparent
ones, improving the trading operations of Dr. Martens.
Economic Factors: There has been announced a reduction on the amount of corporate tax that is
levied on business organisation’s profits from 19% to 18% by the UK government from April
2020 onwards (Perera, 2017). This change in the economic policy of UK will certainly have a
positive impact on Dr. Martens’s profitability as now it would have to pay lesser taxes to the
government on the same amount of profits generated as previous years.
Social Factors: There has been a steady rise in the number of consumers opting to shop digitally
instead of visiting retail shops in traditional sense. This social trend can have a negative impact
on the productivity, market share and profitability of Dr. Martens unless Dr. Martens’s
leadership and management update their operations to align with the social trends of consumers
in the UK.
Technological Factors: There are multiple technological factors that can have a significantly
positive impact on the operations, performance, efficiency and profitability of Dr. Martens.
Through the use of new technology, Dr. Martens can upgrade its manufacturing equipment to
increase their performance and efficiency. Dr. Martens can also make use of new digital channels
of marketing to market their products to a larger audience.
Environmental Factors: As one of the most popular products in Dr. Martens’s range of
manufactured goods are their high quality leather shoes and apparels, changes to UK laws and
regulations concerning the treatment of animals or methods of procuring leather can increase the
supplier’s prices of leather which Dr. Martens has to procure for its operations (Christodoulou
and Cullinane, 2019). This can have a negative impact on the profitability of Dr. Martens.
Legal Factors: There are multiple legal factors also present in the business environment in
which Dr. Martens operates in that can have an impact on their productivity and profitability.
Changes to UK government’s mandated laws regarding the minimum wage for labours, health
and safety laws, taxation laws can have a negative impact on Dr. Martens’s profitability in the
consumer markets.