Ted Baker profits jump as its global retail sales surge

The upmarket fashion retailer and brand recorded a 4.4% uplift in pre-tax profit to £61.3m for the year ending January 28.

Before the impact of exceptional items, Ted Baker said pre-tax profit jumped 12.1% to £65.8m.

Revenues advanced 16.4% to £531m – a 10.8% increase in constant currencies – as sales grew in all of Ted Baker’s main markets across the globe.

Retail sales surged 15% to £440.7m, with sales in the UK and Europe rising 10.7% to £279.5m, while revenues from its retail operations in the US and Canada grew 28.3% to £103.4m.

Online sales leapt 35.1% to £72.3m.

International expansion

Ted Baker’s licencing income increased by 26.8% to £18.2m, as its franchise partners launched stores and concessions in Azerbaijan, Dubai, Egypt, Indonesia, Mexico and Taiwan.

The business also opened maiden stores in Bahrain and Vietnam.

In its wholesale business, Ted Baker said sales were up 20.9% – 15.9% in constant currencies – to £130.3m.

After sales increased across its markets, Ted Baker is increasing its focus on expansion in the coming year.

New stores in Oxford, Gloucester, Paris and its first Dutch outlet in Roermond are all planned for the year ahead, along with further concessions in the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands.

Outside Europe, Ted Baker is eyeing stores in Los Angeles and Houston in the US and Shanghai in China, as well as concessions in Canada, Japan and South Korea as it continues its drive to become a “global lifestyle brand”.

Ted Baker founder and chief executive, Ray Kelvin, said he was “pleased” with “another good year of progress.”

Kelvin added: “We have continued to trade well and develop despite a backdrop of on-going external challenges across our global markets. This success reflects the strength and appeal of the brand as well as the outstanding quality of our collections.”