Ted Baker chief executive Ray Kelvin today said its clear multichannel strategy and attention to detail meant it was well placed for growth in a challenging market. Sales shifted further online in its latest financial year, as the way shoppers bought continued to change. Ecommerce sales grew by 39.8% in its latest full year, but in-store sales, when calculated on a like-for-like per square metre basis, were down by 1.9%.
The fashion retailer, a Top250 trader in IRUK Top500 research, today reported group revenue of £591.7m in the year to January 27 2018, 11.4% up on the same time last year. Retail sales of £442.5m were 10.4% ahead of last time, and included £301.1m in the UK, a rise of 7.7%. Online sales of £101.1m were 39.8% up on last time, while wholesale grew by 14.6% to £149.2m. Pre-tax profits of £68.8m were 12.3% ahead of last time.
Founder and chief executive Ray Kelvin said: “Our new collections have been received positively and although we anticipate external trading conditions will remain challenging across many of our global markets, the strength of our brand and business model mean that we remain well-positioned to continue the group’s momentum and long-term development. We have a clear strategy for growth across both established and new markets which is underpinned by our controlled, multi-channel distribution as well as the design, quality and attention to detail that are at the heart of everything we do.”
Here’s what the retailer, which sells online and via 532 stores and concessions around the world, including 195 in the UK, said about its multichannel strategy.
Multichannel
“Our ecommerce business is an integral and increasingly important component within our retail proportion and has performed very well, delivering strong sales growth,” said Ted Baker in its full-year results. Online sales accounted for 27.4% of UK and European sales, but 13.6% of North American sales. It said it planned to invest in its websites to improve the customer experience, accounting for part of the £30m capital expenditure it plans in its new financial year, down from £36.6m in 2017. Its ambition is for customers “to enjoy a seamless experience regardless of how they choose to shop and interact with the brand” – including a “user-friendly online brand and shopping experience across multiple devices”.
It said that retail sales per square foot fell by 1.9% to £832, from £848 last time, when ecommerce was excluded. This, it said, demonstrated “changing customer behaviour with customers shopping both online and in store.” But overall store revenues of £341.4m were up by 4% on last time.
International
Investment in brand awareness in “newer markets” was a priority for the retailer as it expanded through new openings in the UK, Europe, North America and elsewhere around the world. It has opened a new airport store at London Luton and plans openings in Barcelona Airport and London Bridge Station, alongside new openings in Germany, the UK, France, and Spain. It is also opening new stores in the US and new concessions with partners in Mexico and Japan. It has a dedicated websites for the US market, Europe, Canada and Australia as well as the UK, and trades on “renowned local websites” in Asia.
Operations and logistics
Ted Baker expects to complete the rollout of the Microsoft Dynamics AX enterprise resource planning system in its UK and European businesses towards the end of this year.This, it said, will help it to improve efficiency in more streamlined operations as the business develops.
It has also moved from three distribution centres into one European distribution centre, in the UK, supporting retail, online and wholesale logistics across Europe.
