Ted Baker’s remaining stores to close this week, putting 500 jobs at risk

Ted Baker, a popular fashion retailer, will be shutting down its remaining 31 stores in the United Kingdom this week. This unfortunate decision puts over 500 jobs in jeopardy.

Ted Baker, a brand that originally sold men's clothing in Glasgow back in 1988 under the leadership of Ray Kelvin, is famous for its unique ads and flower patterns. Unfortunately, the UK division of the company filed for administration in March after facing significant financial losses.

The company has closed down 15 stores in the United Kingdom, leading to approximately 245 employees losing their jobs. It has been reported that the remaining stores will also be closing this week. The brand will still be sold through other retailers such as John Lewis and House of Fraser.

Ted Baker has faced challenges for many years due to growing competition, the transition to e-commerce, and the aftermath of Kelvin's departure in 2019 following accusations of inappropriate behavior.

The fashion industry in the UK has faced challenges in the past year due to unusually cold weather in the spring and early summer. Additionally, the increasing cost of living has led to a decrease in spending on non-essential items.

The brand will be shutting down its remaining stores by Tuesday. This comes shortly after US-based Authentic Brands Group purchased the brand for a discounted price of £211m two years ago. The British branch of the brand has been operating under the No Ordinary Designer Label division of the company.

Authentic Brands, the company that owns several well-known fashion brands such as Juicy Couture and Reebok, still has control of Ted Baker's intellectual property. They were looking for a new company to manage the retail and online operations in the UK and Europe. Mike Ashley's Frasers Group, the company behind Sports Direct, was in the lead to partner with Authentic Brands, but it seems that negotiations have come to a halt.

Last month, news came out that Ted Baker might no longer be seen in British malls as employees were informed that the few stores left could shut down. According to a report by Sky News on Sunday, discussions to secure a new licensing agreement for the brand's future have come to a halt.

NODL recently announced a significant loss of nearly £44m in the year leading up to January. This was due to a decrease in sales of almost 8% to £176m during the same time period. The company experienced challenges with its previous European partner, which affected its overall performance.

The company has shops in various locations around the world such as the United States, Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. In addition to selling in their own stores, they also partner with department stores and license their brand for children's clothing and lingerie, which are managed by British retailer Next. The licenses, franchises, and US operations are not expected to be impacted by the issues at NODL.

Authentic has been exploring different possibilities for the future of the business since the end of January. They ended a partnership with the Dutch company AARC, which managed Ted Baker's shops and online store in the UK and Europe.

When NODL went into administration in March, Authentic stated that the impact of their collaboration with AARC was too severe to recover from.