Ted Baker slumps to loss on back of lockdown and shift to casual wear

The firm plans to strengthen its online presence, with £11m earmarked for its e-commerce site's revamp.

Fashion retailer Ted Baker – which has a number of stores and concessions in Ireland – has posted an annual underlying loss of £59.2m (€69m), saying Covid restrictions and a shift in focus from upmarket clothing to casual wear hammered its earnings.

The company warned that first quarter revenue in its current financial year fell 20% due to further Covid restrictions. However, CEO Rachel Osborne said the performance of stores since their reopening has been “very pleasing”.

Ms Osborne, who took over last year, has been working on winning back customers and investor trust after a string of setbacks that followed the departure of previous chief executive and founder Ray Kelvin following misconduct allegations.

The company, which cut nearly 1,000 jobs and raised money through a stock issue to get through the crisis, is undergoing a three-year turnaround plan focused on saving £31m a year. It also plans to strengthen its online presence, with £11m earmarked for its e-commerce site's revamp.

"Ted Baker needs to find a way to sustainably improve its online business, or it won't bode well for trading patterns in the post-pandemic, digital-centric world," Hargreaves analyst Sophie Lund-Yates said.

While overall sales slumped by 44% to £352m in fiscal 2021, online sales leapt 22%, though growth slowed to 4.5% in the first quarter of the current year with fewer discounts and other promotions.

Reuters and Irish Examiner