Ted Baker went into administration earlier this year (Picture: Astrid Stawiarz)
Ted Baker, the troubled fashion chain once the go-to brand for young floral print-loving professionals, may soon be gone for good.
Founded in 1987, the Scottish design house at its peak had thousands of staff and roughly 500 stores worldwide.
But after years of scandals, shoddy bookkeeping and the coronavirus pandemic, the brand’s owners called in the administrators earlier this year.
Now all remaining Ted Baker stores could be closed within the next three weeks, sources told The Sun.
Ted Baker had 46 UK stores and employed 975 people before going into insolvency, with 15 stores already shuttered. and 254 people out of work.
The tabloid reports that staff will likely lose their jobs when the shutters are pulled down on the stores for the last time.
List of UK Ted Baker stores thatc closed down in April 2024
Bristol
Bromley
Cambridge
Exeter
Leeds
Liverpool One
London Bridge
Milton Keynes
Nottingham
Oxford
Bicester (notice served before administration)
Brompton Road, London (notice served before administration)
Floral Street, London (notice served before administration)
Manchester Trafford (notice served before administration).
While the plans haven’t been finalised, the insiders said Ted Baker disappearing from the high street forever is the intention.
Ted Baker’s future was thrown into uncertainty in March after a deal between its American owners, Authentic Brands, and a Dutch operating partner collapsed.
Administrator Teneo tried to hash out a buyout with House of Fraser, only for the department store chain to pull out.
Ted Baker sales have slumped for years (Picture: Getty Images)
Ted Baker has struggled since its founder Ray Kelvin quit his role as CEO following allegations of his ‘forced hugging’ policy by hundreds of staff.
Kelvin, who opened Ted Baker as a shirt shop in Glashow in 1988, resigned in 2018.
The brand’s reputation took another blow when a massive accounting error was discovered the following year, leaving a £58million hole in its balance sheet.
In early 2020, three out of four employees were furloughed – about 2,000 people – from those behind the tills to its head office amid the pandemic.
Ted Baker has been approached for comment. Teneo declined to comment.
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