Christmas sales boost for Ted Baker as probe into founder continues
Ted Baker has seen its Christmas sales jump despite allegations against its founder and challenges on the high street.
The global fashion and lifestyle brand said retail sales increased by 12.2% over the five weeks to 5 January. E-commerce sales, which account for about a quarter of retail performance, were up 18.7%.
Acting chief executive Lindsay Page said: “The Ted Baker brand has delivered a good performance across both our stores and e-commerce business, despite the continuing challenging external trading conditions across our markets.
“This result again reflects the strength of the brand and the quality of our collections.”
It comes amid an ongoing investigation into the conduct of Ted Baker’s founder and suspended boss Ray Kelvin, who was accused of harassment in the workplace last year.
The company said an independent investigation, led by law firm Herbert Smith Freehills, is “progressing” and a further update will be given in due course.
Ted Baker has also had to contend with declining consumer confidence in several markets and the fallout from House of Fraser’s collapse in the UK.
In October, the brand revealed that its profits had been hit by the department store’s administration in August, and that trading at its concessions in the stores had been poor.
Wayne Brown, an analyst at Liberum, said the latest numbers represented “a strong result considering the market backdrop”.
“The group’s flexible retail model and strong proposition clearly drove strong traffic online as well as footfall dynamics over this period,” he added.
Words and image: Press Association
