Nearly 1,000 jobs are at risk after Ted Baker's European retail and online arm announced plans to appoint administrators. The move comes as the brand's owner, Authentic Brands Group (ABG), cited irreparable damage from a previous partnership with Dutch company AARC.
Ted Baker has 46 stores in the UK and Europe, and the division employs 975 staff across the region. The company has struggled in recent years, facing increased competition and the fallout from the departure of founder Ray Kelvin in 2019 amid allegations of misconduct.
ABG acquired Ted Baker in 2022 for £211 million. However, the European retail arm, No Ordinary Designer Label (NODL), reported a pre-tax loss of £43 million in the year to January 2022. In January 2024, ABG terminated its deal with AARC, which had been operating Ted Baker's stores and website in Europe.
John McNamara, chief strategy and transition officer at ABG, said: 'Despite our tireless efforts, the damage done during a period under AARC in which NODL built up a significant level of arrears was too much to overcome.' He added that stores and the website would continue to trade during administration.
The licences, franchises and US business are unaffected by the administration. Ted Baker's brand is licensed to Next for childrenswear and lingerie, and those operations continue as normal.
