Ted Baker sales boosted by return of high street shoppers

Ted Baker posted sales grew over summer, helped by a healthy rebound in store footfall following the relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions compared to a year earlier.

The fashion chain, which recently agreed to be bought for £211million, reported total sales grew by 3.4 per cent in the 14 weeks to 29 July against the equivalent period last year.

High street sales climbed by a fifth as consumers purchased more full-price goods and newly-released ranges, although when compared to 2020 levels, they were still around 23 per cent down on a like-for-like basis.

Growth: Fashion chain Ted Baker, which recently agreed to be bought for £211million, reported total sales grew by 3.4 per cent in the 14 weeks to 29 July

Wholesale revenues were also more than a third lower compared to two years ago due to retail outlets being restocked as lockdown rules ended.

By comparison, licence sales shot up by 62.3 per cent thanks to the recovery in travel and store footfall boosting demand for formalwear and children’s clothing.

Online revenues were also modestly higher, even though the absence of trading restrictions led to a slowdown in online shopping and there were troubles with the group’s new e-commerce site.

Ted Baker warned that traffic and sales would continue to be affected until issues with the website are resolved and could lead to certain milestones during the peak trading period being missed.

It additionally said that it was ‘mindful of the significant recent deterioration of the macroeconomic environment, falling consumer confidence and continued volatility in the supply chain.’

Apparel sales across many countries have fallen back in recent months as surging energy prices forced shoppers to cut back on discretionary expenditure.

Ted Baker bosses recently accepted from Authentic Brands Group (ABG), the parent company of Sports Illustrated magazine, Juicy Couture and Reebok.

Recent Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures showed that clothing store purchases in Great Britain declined by 1.2 per cent in July, having taken a 3.9 per cent hit in the previous month.

Zalando, Europe’s largest online clothing retailer, revealed in August that half-year revenues had dropped for the first time in its 14-year history due to worsening inflationary pressures.

Its share price has plummeted by over three-quarters in the past 12 months as the lockdown-induced boom in online shopping started to wind down.

Ted Baker shares were already sliding significantly in value prior to the Covid-19 pandemic as the Glasgow-based group struggled with profit warnings, falling sales and an accounting error that left a £58million hole in its balance sheet.

They have plunged by over 96 per cent from their 2015 peak but were flat this morning at 109.2p per share.

This was slightly below the acquisition price that Ted Baker bosses recently accepted from Authentic Brands Group (ABG), the parent company of Sports Illustrated magazine, Juicy Couture and Reebok.

ABG has said it plans to divide the fashion label into two businesses; an intellectual property holding company, and another division that would look after the store, online and wholesale operations.

A shareholder vote on the proposed takeover is due on 29 September, with the acquisition set to be completed sometime during the last quarter of 2022.  

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk