Founder
Ray Kelvin, named the company after a self-styled
alter ego, an "intrepid aviator, an all-round sportsman and the consort of princesses and Hollywood beauties". Kelvin opened his first Ted Baker store in March 1988 in Glasgow, and soon opened further stores in
Manchester and
Nottingham. In 1990, Ted Baker opened a store in
Covent Garden, London, with further stores in London's
Soho,
Nottingham and
Leeds. A new range, Ted Baker Woman, was launched in 1995. The next few years were a time of rapid expansion, with Ted Baker stores, and
wholesale operations, opening all over the world, and Ted Baker product lines expanding. In 1998, the company launched their first website. Over the next few years, Ted Baker would continue opening stores around the world, including in August 2012, a Ted Baker store on
Fifth Avenue in New York. In 2014, Ted Baker launched luggage, home fragrance, and audio, as well as collections. The company purchased its London headquarters for £58.25 million in 2017. Despite certain problems, the 2010s would see sustained growth for the company. In March 2018, Ted Baker shares reached their all-time high price of 3,214p a share. , London in 2016 2018 saw Ted Baker mark 30 years as a company, by releasing a range of celebratory 30-year anniversary items, and the company's first official advertising campaign. At this time, the retailer also issued a profit warning, after writing off £5m of unsold clothes. At this time, Ted Baker shares were trading at 1,973.5p. In 2019,
The Observer criticised Ted Baker for "high prices and out-of-step styling", noting that the brand had been overtaken by multiple competitors. The Observer also cited excessive diversification as one of the reasons for the brand's decline. Ted Baker's troubles continued in 2020, as in January 2020, the firm revealed that an accounting error was twice as big as had been previously thought, leaving a £58m hole in its balance sheet. In April 2020, Ted Baker furloughed nearly 2,000 employees, around 75% of their workforce, including head office staff, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. The company also suspended non-essential capital expenditure and halted any discretionary operating expenses. In March 2020, the company sold their London headquarters, The Ugly Brown Building, for £78.8m. Under the terms of the ABG takeover, Ted Baker plc's shareholders were paid £1.10 per share, as the deal marked the end of the company's listing on the
London Stock Exchange. By March 2024, the number of UK stores had fallen from 192 in 2018, to 86. In February 2024, ABG severed ties with AARC, the company which had been running its Ted Baker stores and e-commerce business in Europe. AARC had reportedly "failed to inject promised funding into the business and meet its financial obligations to Authentic". The company also announced in February that it could not pay rent for its British shops. In March it was announced that No Ordinary Designer Label (NODL), the holding company for Ted Baker's retail and online operations in the UK and Europe, had filed intention to appoint administrators to the European operations of the ailing business. The move puts up to 1,000 jobs at risk. ABG's chief strategy and transition officer John McNamara blamed the problems to the period of AARC control. Analysing the brand's fall in 2024, financial expert Gary Hemming, said: "
Ted Baker has faced a torrid few years after their founder left the business in 2019 following allegations of inappropriate behaviour. This had led to a real domino effect for the brand as reputational damage coupled with instability in the company hierarchy saw Ted Baker head into the pandemic in a sorry state. While most retail brands reacted quickly and adapted to the new market, there was a feeling that Ted Baker, already reeling, failed to do so. From there, a death spiral has ensued as the brand has slipped to irrelevance, being replaced by newer, fresher brands that have managed to capture the interest of shoppers." In May, it was reported that the
Frasers Group were considering a deal to take control of Ted Baker's UK operations. In July, it was announced that Ted Baker's Dutch unit was bankrupt. In August it was announced that all seven Ted Baker outlets in Ireland would shut, and that talks with Frasers Group had stalled, meaning the remaining 31 UK stores would also close, putting more than 500 jobs at risk. As of August 2024, Ted Baker branded products will continue to be sold in other stores. In November 2024, ABG in conjunction with new operators United Legwear and Apparel, relaunched the brand online with a new website and new products. ==See also==