Dr Martens: giving infringers the boot
For many global brands a multi-storey complex in the heart of one of the world’s major cities is what they call home. Their base is a sign of power, where their ideas are born, and products are designed and tested before being marketed around the world.
Despite Dr Martens’ rigorous designing and testing procedures, there are no glitzy high-rises at this company, which prides itself on humble beginnings and its work before becoming the brand you see today.
After arriving by train at a small town in England’s Northamptonshire region, WIPR was taken by taxi to the company’s headquarters in a sleepy village named Wollaston.
It was here, in a modest looking factory with its recently added museum on the edge of the village, that the first Dr Martens shoes were created by local family-owned company R Griggs and Co.
It’s not quite what you would expect from one of the world’s most recognisable shoe companies, especially one that was synonymous with the UK’s ‘skinhead’ movement in previous years.
Charlotte Hagan (pictured below), the company’s intellectual property manager, tells WIPR it’s a “down to earth” company that stays true to its family-orientated origins.
