Ted Baker strikes Japanese licensing deal to drive growth

The change, effective for the start of October, is designed to accelerate Ted Baker’s long-term growth in Japan.

The deal is likely to bring costs of approximately £4m and is expected to have “a marginally positive impact on pre-tax profit from the current financial year and greater benefit in the further years”. Initially, the tie-up is for five years and is Ted Baker’s 17th retail licence arrangement worldwide.

Ted Baker said: “Sojitz Infinity will drive the long-term expansion of the Ted Baker brand in the region, combining its local expertise, especially within the department store sector, with the proven buying, merchandising and brand-building expertise of Ted Baker.”

There are five Ted Baker stores in Japan and “Sojitz Infinity intends to build on the existing store portfolio, expand the concession network and invest in Ted Baker’s online presence”.

Ted Baker chief executive Lindsay Page said: “We are very excited about the next stage of growth for the Ted Baker brand in Japan. Over recent years, we have invested in introducing Ted Baker to Japanese customers and we are confident that our new Japanese retail licence partner will build on this platform and deliver meaningful long-term growth.

“In Sojitz Infinity we have an extremely capable partner. This combination will drive an acceleration in performance of the business. We firmly believe that Japan has the long-term potential to be an important market for the Ted Baker brand.

“This completes the reorganisation of our Asian operations and is another step forward in our strategy to further expand Ted Baker as a truly global lifestyle brand.”