Ted Baker sales boosted by overseas expansion
High street fashion chain Ted Baker has reported an increase in both profits and sales in its first half as it continues to expand its brand both in the UK and overseas.
In the 28 weeks to 11 August, group revenue increased by 15.4% to £118.6 million from £102.8 in the first half last year. Retail sales in the UK and Europe rose 7.9% to £74.7 million while US retail sales surged 53.3% to $25.6 million.
Online sales grew by 82.4% to £6.2 million as the retailer continued to benefit from enhancements to its UK based transactional site introduced in the second half of last year.
Ted Baker continued to expand both in the UK and overseas, opening stores in London, Tokyo, Japan, Seoul, South Korea and Harbour City, Hong Kong. It also opened a store on Fifth Avenue, New York at the end of the period.
Never Miss a Retail Update!While profit before tax and exceptional costs rose 10.4% to £9.4 million, profit slipped by 8.4% to £7.8 million once the exceptional costs were applied. These related to rent on the group’s flagship store in New York and to its Tokyo stores, as well as to set-up costs for expansion into other international markets.
Licence income was up 19.2% to £3.7 million as a result of a good performance across both territorial and product licences.
Wholesale sales increased by 15.4% to £24.9 million.
Commenting on the results, Ray Kelvin CBE, founder and chief executive, said: “We have delivered good results in a challenging environment whilst making important investments for the long term development of the brand, including opening new stores in Tokyo and on Fifth Avenue, New York.
“We are especially pleased with the positive reaction to our Autumn/Winter collections and I am delighted with the openings, since the period end, of our first store in China in Beijing and our first concessions in Germany, as we continue to build Ted’s global presence.
“As ever, our full year results will be dependent on trading in the important second half and we remain understandably cautious at this stage given the uncertainty in the global economy. However, we believe that we are well placed to deal with the challenges ahead.”
