Ted Baker looks to the Far East for overseas growth

The retailer is focusing on international growth, having opened its first store in Tokyo, as well as new concessions in department stores in the Netherlands and South Korea in its first quarter.

Ted Baker is scheduled to open a store in Beijing in September with new stores planned in Indonesia and Malayasia later this year.

Panmure Gordon analyst Jean Roache said the Beijing store will mark “a new phase in Ted Baker’s international expansion”. Singer analyst Matthew McEachran said the opening “could be a potential game changer for the brand”, adding: “Paul Smith has gone over there and had huge success as it seems the British style formula has worked well. Ted Baker has very stylish formal aspects and their casualwear is smart casual, while the brand also has eccentricity that consumers over there will like.”

Ted Baker chief executive Ray Kelvin told Retail Week he planned to launch the business in two more countries next year through stores or concessions. He would not disclose the locations.

The retailer opened its Brompton Road store in London on Saturday and debuts its Fifth Avenue store in New York in August.

In the first quarter, group revenue surged 14.6% and retail sales rose 16.2%. Analysts calculated the retailer delivered a 4.2% like-for-like increase.

Kelvin said the business was performing well considering the state of the global markets and the eurozone. He said: “It is testament to our products, the brand and the team.”