Once a fashionable and desirable brand, Ted Baker is set to close its remaining 31 UK stores this week, with 500 people at risk of losing their jobs.
It comes after the firm behind Ted Baker’s UK shops, No Ordinary Designer Label (NODL), fell into administration in March, with administrators closing 15 shops and cutting 245 jobs.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the decision to shutter the remaining shops was triggered after the Authentic Brand Group – which acquired Ted Baker in 2022 – stopped paying its suppliers.
After opening in Glasgow in 1988, Ted Baker enjoyed some considerable successes, including picking up impressive celebrity endorsements including Amal Clooney, Holly Willoughby, and Emma Stone. The Princess of Wales famously wore a navy Ted Baker trench during the then-Duke and Duchess of Cambridge‘s Canada tour in July 2011.
So what went wrong? According to UK fashion expert Rochelle White, a number of factors contributed to the once-thriving brand becoming the latest high street casualty, from struggling to keep up with the trends to issues with leadership, among others.
The then-Kate Middleton was snapped wearing a navy Ted Baker trench on several occasions (pictured attending the last day of the Cheltenham National Hunt Festival meeting in 2008)
Holly Willoughby is another celebrity who has been snapped wearing Ted Baker designs – including this floral printed frock
Rochelle told FEMAIL: ‘I feel that Ted Baker is one of those brands that just got comfortable in what they knew and to certain extent lost who they were marketing too.
‘I feel that their target customer and audience has changed over the years and they haven’t really learnt that or moved with that.’
The expert added that although Ted Baker was a British retails, it ‘really did start to look and feel like a Ralph Lauren’.
She continued: ‘It was losing the Britishness about the brand and styles.
‘The brand Holland Cooper, is a great example of tapping into British culture in a modern way, who are very clear on their customer.’
According to Rochelle, the also brand suffered as a result of not moving with the times.
She explained: ‘Creator/ influencer partnerships and collaborations is something that they lacked.
High-profile lawyer Amal Clooney looks extremely stylish sporting a pale blue mini dress from Ted Baker
‘Also, their communications were not consistent across their channels.
‘Their Instagram had a very different look and feel to their TikTok. They are different platforms, with a need for different content and target audience.’
Another factor many have cited in the breakdown of the brand are accusations aimed the founder Ray Kelvin.
North Londoner Kelvin had started working in his uncle’s Enfield menswear shop aged 11 and gone on to found the Ted Baker brand after success with a men’s shirts shop in Glasgow.
The range of shirts in the Glasgow store – in every colour of the rainbow – became a huge hit in the ‘acid house’ era of the 1990s, as clubbers wanted to stand out under the strobe lights.
More shops quickly followed – in Manchester’s King Street and Nottingham Exchange Arcade – and as the 90s rolled on, the brand quickly branched out into other departments, eventually selling everything from womenswear, childrenswear, shoes, fragrance and watches to glasses, wedding attire, bedding and lingerie.
A Ted Baker store on Regent Street in London is festooned with posters advertising its closing down sale in July 2024
Ted Baker founder Ray Kelvin (pictured in London in 2019) stepped down from the brand after facing allegations of inappropriate behaviour
It also had a strong presence in department stores including concessions in House of Fraser, Fenwick, Selfridges and over 20 locations in John Lewis stores.
By 1998, Ted Baker had opened its first store in the US, with a shop in New York – and carved out a partnership with American department store Nordstrom. There are now 500 stores and concessions globally.
That same year, Kelvin took a leave of absence when the company was forced to launch an independent investigation into his alleged behaviour following a petition from staff – which he denies.
He was accused of stroking people’s necks and making sexual innuendos and promptly stepped down in March 2019, saying ‘It is the right thing to step away’.
Kelvin said at the time: ‘Difficult though this decision is given that Ted Baker has been my life and soul for over 30 years, I’ve decided that the right thing to do is to step away from Ted and allow the business to focus on being the outstanding brand it is so it can face 2019 with fresh energy and renewed spirit.’
However, by December that year, bosses of the firm quit after profits plunged to less than £10million after its ‘worst ever year of trading’.
The group said at the time that chief executive Lindsay Page – who took over from founder Ray Kelvin after he quit – had been replaced by an interim director.
The brand suffered another major blow in 2020.
‘Lockdown was a tough year for brands if they didn’t pivot,’ explained Rochelle.
‘So, now four years on, they haven’t recovered as they didn’t invest in areas that could have helped them stand the test of time.’
The issue of keeping up with moving trends is one she highlighted again, telling FEMAIL: ‘When brands have heritage and legacy, it is really important to not only uphold, but to also move forward with the times.
‘You have to be able to keep the brand story in the forefront of consumers minds, but also be speaking to the ones who could be potential customers in the future.
‘The brand should have really kept up with trends, understood the market they’re in, and where fashion is going.’
She explained that the longevity of a brand ‘has to come from the top as well as the bottom, with clear plans of actions for being able to adapt and move quickly’.
According to Rochelle: ‘When brands get comfortable and don’t investment in campaigns, collaborations and partnerships, as well as content that resonates, they fall behind.
‘This is the case for Ted Baker. They didn’t listen, learn, adapt and move with the times.
Ted Baker is closing all 31 of its remaining stores by Tuesday after the brand fell into administration earlier this year
‘Also, the leadership was under pressure and strained and as a results cracks and issues appeared.’
Commenting on the brand’s decline, John McNamara, chief strategy and transition officer for Authentic Brands Group, previously told Fashion Network: ‘We wish that there could’ve been a better outcome for the Ted Baker employees and stakeholders.’
Announcing the brand’s bankruptcy last month, joint administrator Benji Dymant said: ‘Ted Baker is an iconic British brand with strong partners around the world.
‘These store closures, whilst with a regrettable impact on valued team members, will improve the performance of the business, as Authentic continues to progress discussions with potential UK and European operating partners for the Ted Baker brand to bring the business back to health.
‘We would like to thank Ted Baker team members and partners for their ongoing efforts and support at this difficult time.’