Dr Martens shares plunged around 30 percent on Tuesday to a record low after the British boot maker warned of another tough year in its key US market, setting a challenge for its next chief executive.

The company, whose chunky lace-up boots have been a fashion statement since the 1960s, named chief brand officer Ije Nwokorie as its next CEO.

Kenny Wilson, who has been at the helm for six years, has decided this year will be his last as CEO, Dr Martens said, although it did not give a precise date for the handover.

The company has been struggling with customer destocking and reduced orders in the United States from wholesale customers wary of economic pressures.

Its shares have been hammered in recent years by a series of profit warnings and disappointing results that prompted investor Marathon Partners to call for an immediate strategic review earlier this month.

They hit a record low of 65.50 pence in early Tuesday trade.

Dr Martens said its results for the year ended March 31, 2024, would be in line with market expectations, but flagged another difficult year ahead.

“The FY25 outlook is challenging, and the whole organisation is focused on our action plan to reignite boots demand, particularly in the USA, our largest market,” Wilson said.

“The nature of USA wholesale is that when customers gain confidence in the market we will see a significant improvement in our business performance, but we are not assuming that this occurs in FY25.”

The company said it was anticipating a double-digit percentage decline in US wholesale revenues, which would dent overall profits.

It also said it did not expect to hike prices further this year, which had previously enabled it to offset cost inflation.

By Yadarisa Shabong and Eva Mathews; editing by Janane Venkatraman and Mark Potter

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French fashion house Balmain has appointed Matteo Sgarbossa as chief executive, effective May 6.

Sgarbossa succeeds Jean-Jacques Guevel, who left the Mayhoola-owned business in March 2024. During his tenure, Guevel led the company through the pandemic, boosted the brand’s entry-level offer with the introduction of a monogrammed canvas range and public shows and inked a fragrance licensing deal with Estée Lauder, slated for release later this year.

Sgarbossa will be tasked with fuelling the next phase of growth for the brand alongside longtime designer Olivier Rousteing. He joins from Givenchy, where he served as international director, and previously held roles at Gucci and Mango.

The brand has not yet named a successor to marketing chief Txampi Diz, who also exited in March.

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China’s economy is expected to have slowed in the first quarter as a protracted property downturn and weak private-sector confidence weigh on demand, maintaining pressures on policymakers to unveil more stimulus measures.

Data on Tuesday is forecast to show gross domestic product grew 4.6 percent in January-March from a year earlier, slowing from 5.2 percent in the previous three months and hitting the weakest since the first quarter of 2023, according to a Reuters poll.

The world’s second-largest economy has struggled to mount a strong and sustainable a post-pandemic bounce, burdened by a protracted property downturn, mounting local government debts and weak private-sector spending.

The government has set a target of around 5 percent for this year, which has been described by most analysts as ambitious, partly because last year’s growth rate of 5.2 percent was likely flattered by a comparison with a pandemic-hit 2022.

The economy was off to a solid start this year, fanning optimism among some analysts for an improved 2024 outcome, but March data on exports, consumer inflation and bank lending showed that momentum could falter again and policymakers may need to launch more stimulus to spur demand.

“I think Q1 GDP growth could be slightly stronger than expected - it may be close to 5 percent,” said Zong Liang, chief of research at state-owned Bank of China.

“The growth target is achievable as we still have more policy space.”

On a quarterly basis, the economy is forecast to expand 1.4 percent in the first quarter, quickening from 1.0 percent in October-December, the poll showed.

GDP data is due on Tuesday at 02:00 GMT. Separate data on March activity is expected to show both industrial output and retail sales slowing.

For 2024, the economy is expected to grow at a subdued 4.6 percent pace year-on-year, the poll showed, falling short of the official target of around 5.0 percent.

Last week, Fitch cut its outlook on China’s sovereign credit rating to negative, citing risks to public finances as Beijing channels more spending towards infrastructure and high-tech manufacturing, amid a shift away from the property sector.

The government is drawing on infrastructure work - a well-used playbook - to help lift the economy as consumers are wary of spending and businesses lack confidence to expand.

China has set the 2024 quota for local government special bond issuance at 3.9 trillion yuan ($538.79 billion), up from 3.8 trillion yuan last year. Beijing also plans to issue 1 trillion yuan in special ultra-long term treasury bonds to support some key sectors.

The People’s Bank of China has pledged to step up policy support for the economy this year and promote a rebound in prices.

Analysts polled by Reuters expected the central bank to cut the banks’ reserve requirement ratios by 25 basis points in the third quarter, following a 50-basis point cut earlier this year, which was the biggest in two years.

The PBOC might include the buying and selling of treasury bonds in its policy tool reserve in future, Financial News - a publication backed by the central bank - quoted experts as saying last week.

By Kevin Yao; Editing by Shri Navaratnam

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