Strong international and online sales growth helped boost Ted Baker’s pre-tax profits by 49.7% to £11.6m this week.
The fashion retailer’s ecommerce sales alone were up by 51.6% to £9.4m in the 28 weeks to August 10. That helped total retail sales to rise by 30.2% and group revenue by 30.9% to £155.2m.
Ted Baker now plans to launch a new ecommerce platform for the UK in the second half of the year. “This will drive multichannel opportunities and provide local content to our European customers, contributing to the long-term development of the brand in our international markets,” said the company in its results statement.
Particularly strong growth came from international sales, with retail sales up by 56.8% in the US and Canada and by 78.6% in Asia, and up by a still healthy 22.6% in the UK and Europe.
The company now plans to continue its expansion with new stores and concessions in China, North America and Europe as part of a multichannel strategy to become a leading global designer brand.
Ray Kelvin, founder and chief executive of Ted Baker, said: “The last 12 months have seen Ted Baker enter six new international markets and we have been encouraged by the reaction to the brand and collections in these latest territories.”
Our view: A strong example, if one were needed, of why international and multichannel expansion remain at the top of retail agendas this year.