It’s a bleak time for the British high street. First we lost Wilko, then administrators came for the beloved UK beauty emporium The Body Shop. Now, Ted Baker is the latest high street store to announce it could be closing down for good.
Ted Baker’s European arm has called in administrators Teneo – and yesterday (April 8) it revealed that 15 stores will be closing and hundreds of jobs lost. Here’s everything we know about the Ted Baker administration so far.
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Is Ted Baker going into administration?
Yes, Ted Baker has appointed administrators. The Glasgow-born fashion brand has been struggling since 2019 when its founder Ray Kelvin resigned after allegations of misconduct, including ‘forced hugging’.
Will there be a closing down sale?
At the moment there's no word of a sale. For the time being Ted Baker will continue to operate and existing customer orders will be fulfilled.
Which Ted Baker stores going to close?
In total, Ted Baker has 46 stores across the UK. Of those, 11 will close by April 19:
- Birmingham Bullring
- Bristol
- Bromley
- Cambridge
- Exeter
- Leed
- Liverpool On
- London Bridge
- Milton Keynes
- Nottingham
- Oxford
A further four will close after landlords served notice, though notice was served prior to Ted Baker going into administration. Those are:
- Bicester
- London Brompton Road
- London Floral Street
- Manchester Trafford
In total, 15 stores are currently expected to close.
What’s been said about the collapse so far?
Authentic Brands Group chief strategy and transition officer John McNamara said: ‘We wish that there could have been a better outcome for the Ted Baker employees and stakeholders.’
He added that it is ‘hopefully some consolation for customers’ that Ted Baker ‘will continue to trade online and in stores’.
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