Ted Baker chief executive and founder Ray Kelvin remains confident that shoppers are still spending despite being in the middle of a deep recession.
“People are still eating in restaurants and going to the cinema. We would have caught the flu by now and the British public has been pretty resilient,” he said.
Ted Baker’s UK performance has exceeded management expectations so far this financial year and retail sales rose 15.2 per cent in the 19 weeks to June 12. Wholesale was weaker, withsales down 15.7 per cent on last year. Although Ted Baker has closed some wholesale accounts, Kelvin said it is still an important part of the business.
Kelvin said continued business focus and strong product has helped the business to perform. “We have no financial worries so we can really focus on our product and our customer service,” he said.
The retailer is also taking advantage of good property deals in the struggling US market. It will open a store in Boston in October and an outlet store in Orlando this month. Kelvin said that although the US is challenging he is taking a “long-term view”.
Investec analyst David Jeary said: “Full-year forecasts look well underpinned as a result of this trading update.”
Singer analyst Matthew McEachran said that Ted Baker’s sales are less dependent on the weather than other clothing retailers’, so unseasonal conditions would have a more limited impact.
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