Upmarket retailer Ted Baker had an “excellent year” in 2014, as described by Ray Kelvin, Founder and Chief Executive.
After continuing a strong autumn performance into the Christmas period, the FTSE 250 listed firm posted a 23.5% jump in pre-tax profit for the year to January 31.
Strong growth was recorded by e-commerce sales, which were up a salient 58.2% to £36.7m, and the UK and Europe (Ted Baker‘s largest market) which generated £231.7m, up 16.7% on the previous year.
At the press launch for the brand‘s Spring/Summer 2015 campaign, Kelvin spoke on the label‘s view on advertising, where he cited that it‘s “sexier to conceal than reveal” when it comes to promoting. He has a penchant for allowing customers to discover Ted Baker organically, mostly through digital and social media.
In a statement from the company this morning, Kelvin said:
“We continue to invest in the brand as we develop in new markets where we see long term growth. All the while, we remain totally focused on the quality, design and attention to detail which underpins ever area of the group.
Our customers‘ reaction to our Spring/Summer collections across markets has been very encouraging and we are excited by our new store openings in the coming months, which include a first store devoted to showcasing our extended licence product range in Spitalfields, London.
Earlier this month, Ted Baker was cited as one of the most successful brands in the US by American department store giant Nordstrom and the British brand continues to expand into new areas including the Middle East, starting with Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi.
As well as Spitalfield, store openings are planned in Stanstead, London, Amsterdam, Barcelona (it‘s first store in Spain), as well as further concessions in France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain during the year.
There will also be a further push in the US, and continued brand awareness development in Asia where it is in the “relatively early stages of development”. The first street level store in Hong Kong will open its doors in April before more concessions in China and South Korea.
