Ted Baker today reported global ecommerce sales up by a third in the opening weeks of its financial year, and said that it continued to focus on a multichannel growth strategy.
The lifestyle brand said that its global ecommerce sales grew by 32.3% in the 19 weeks to June 11. During that period the company launched its first local language website in Germany and was, it said, “very pleased with its performance at this early stage”. Ted Baker already had local ecommerce websites for the US, Canadian and Australian markets.
Retail sales grew by 12.7% – or 10.3% in constancy currency over the period and group revenue by 11.3%. At the same time, retail floorspace grew by 9.7% to 379,254 sq ft, with international store openings in Beijing, Ottawa and Seattle. Licensed stores have been opened in Azerbaijan, Egypt and Mexico.
Looking to other channels, wholesale grew more slowly, showing growth of 7.3%, with UK performance hit by “the timing of some deliveries”. Wholesale made a strong start to the season in North America, and the company said it expected to see low double digit sales in that part of the business over the year.
Ray Kelvin, founder and chief executive of Ted Baker, said: “These results demonstrate the strengths of the brand. Underpinned by our unwavering focus and passion across all of our products and distribution channels, the talent and dedication of our global teams continue to execute our multichannel growth strategy. We are very pleased with the response from our customers over this period, and remain well-positioned to deliver our expectations for the full year.”
Today’s figures build on a year of fast growth for the company as it expands at home and abroad. In the year to January 30, sales of £456.2m rose by 17.7% compared to the previous year, with ecommerce sales up by 45%. Pre-tax profits of £58.7m were up by 20.3% on the previous year.
