Ted Baker will shut 15 shops with 245 jobs facing the axe
TED Baker is to close 15 stores across the UK with the loss of up to 245 jobs.
No Ordinary Designer Label, which trades as the fashion brand, entered into administration last month.
Eleven shops will be shut by April 19 across Birmingham, London, Cambridge and Liverpool, resulting in around 120 staff losing their jobs.
About 25 head office workers are also going to be made redundant as a result of plans to reduce central costs at the chain.
Administrators Teneo revealed that a further four stores, earmarked for closure prior to the firm entering administration, will also go. This will result in about 100 additional redundancies.
Benji Dymant, joint administrator, said: “Ted Baker is an iconic British brand with strong partners around the world. These store closures, whilst with a regrettable impact on valued team members, will improve the performance of the business, as we continue to progress discussions with potential UK and European operating partners for the Ted Baker brand to bring the business back to health.
“We would like to thank Ted Baker team members and partners for their ongoing efforts and support at this difficult time.”
The brand was launched from a Glasgow shop by Ray Kelvin in 1988.
Since then, it has been endorsed by an array of celebrities, including Holly Willoughby, Amal Clooney, Amanda Holden, Emma Stone and Myleene Klass.
But in March 2019, it parted ways with Mr Kelvin, who said at the time: “I’m extremely proud of what we’ve achieved in building Ted Baker to the global brand it is today.”
The retailer was among those struggling during the pandemic. After battling to return revenues to pre-Covid levels, No Ordinary Designer Label Limited brought in Teneo.
The retail giant currently has 86 locations in the UK, which include 29 standalone branches plus 35 concessions.
Twenty-five shops are located in John Lewis department stores while seven are in airports. A further eight are Ted Baker outlet branches.