Ted Baker faces collapse with hundreds of jobs at risk
TED BAKER is on the brink of collapse as its American owner prepares to place it into administration, putting hundreds of jobs at risk.
Authentic Brands Group, which bought Ted Baker for £211m in 2022, said that the retailer had built up “a significant level of arrears”.
It blamed “damage done” to the brand under its previous owner AARC, the Dutch company, which had been running its stores and e-commerce business in Europe.
The arrears were built up as Ted Baker, which is officially known as No Ordinary Designer Label (NODL), faced tough trading in recent years.
Authentic Brands owns nearly 50 fashion, sportswear and celebrity brands, including Reebok and a majority stake in David Beckham’s business empire. The company makes its money by buying brands and turning them into licences, posting an annual turnover of nearly $30bn (£24bn) last year.
Authentic abandoned its deal with AARC in January after it claimed the Dutch company had failed to meet its promise to inject cash into the retailer.
Authentic Brands said Ted Baker stores and its website will continue to trade as normal. John Mcnamara, chief strategy and transition officer, said:
“Despite our tireless efforts, the damage done during a period under AARC in which NODL built up a significant level of arrears was too much to overcome.
“We wish that there could have been a better outcome for the Ted Baker employees and stakeholders.”
Authentic did not reveal any details of job cuts or store closures.
Ted Baker has more than 80 shops and concessions in the UK and employed almost 1,300 staff as of January 2022, its latest available accounts showed.