Opinion: Are Ted Baker’s woes down to Ray Kelvin’s departure?
After a horror show set of interim results, Ted Baker has been doing its best to reassure the City that this is just a blip. But to what extent can the fashion retailer’s travails be blamed on the sudden departure of its founder?
The fashion brand dismayed investors and analysts alike last week when it posted a £23m loss for the 28 weeks to August 10, down from a £24.5m profit in the same period the previous year. Revenue across the group dipped 0.7% to £303.8m, while total retail sales slipped 2.5% to £214.5m.
Another worry for Ted Baker is the performance of its ecommerce offering. Despite having a historically strong, multi-channel ecommerce offering, online sales for the first half fell 1.3% to £52.3m.
In response, investors knocked 35% off its market value within hours of the results being posted and it closed the day trading at historic lows of 469.4p.
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