Ted Baker shuts 15 UK stores, sheds 245 jobs

Ted Baker shuts 15 UK stores, sheds 245 jobs

In yet another blow for the beleaguered British high street, iconic fashion brand Ted Baker is closing 15 stores across Britain – sparking the loss of 245 jobs.

The move comes after the fashion brand fell into administration, with its European retail and online arm appointing Teneo as administrators in March.

It has 46 stores in the UK and Europe and has struggled in tough trading conditions and the fallout from the 2019 ousting of its founder Ray Kelvin, amid claims of a culture of “forced hugs” at the company.

Teneo’s Benji Dymant, the joint administrator of No Ordinary Designer Label, which is the retailer of the Ted Baker brand in the UK and Europe, called the store closures “regrettable”.

He said in a statement: “(The move) will improve the performance of the business, as Authentic continues to progress discussions with potential UK and European operating partners for the Ted Baker brand to bring the business back to health.”

Ted Baker was also hit by the emergence of an accounting error and a string of profit warnings.

It was announced this week that 11 loss-making Ted Baker stores will shut by April 19, with the loss of 120 jobs – including outlets in Birmingham’s Bullring shopping centre and in Liverpool, Oxford, Leeds, Bristol, Milton Keynes and Nottingham.

Teneo said there was no prospect of returning the stores to profitability even with significant rent reductions.

The company is also shedding 25 roles at head office-level to reduce costs, and four more stores will shut in the coming weeks with the loss of about 100 jobs after landlords served notice on the outlets in Manchester, Bicester in Oxfordshire, and two branches in London.

Authentic Brands, the owner of the intellectual property of Ted Baker is still continuing to seek a new operating partner for the retail and online business in the UK and Europe, Teneo has said.

The closures are a massive blow to the beleaguered British high street, which has been hit by a series of closures of big-name retailers since the start of the year, amid the cost of living crisis impacting profits and with the UK sliding into a recession in February.

Bang Showbiz