Ted Baker fashions high street comeback two years after closure

Ted Baker, one of Britain’s best-known fashion brands, is staging a high street comeback more than two years after its remaining standalone stores shut their doors for the last time.

Sky News has learnt that Authentic, the US-based powerhouse behind David Beckham's consumer goods empire and dozens of other prominent brands, will announce on Thursday that it will open an outlet in the City of London under the name Ted Baker Tailored.

It will be the first new British store using the Ted Baker name for years, and underline Authentic's ambitions for reinvigorating the brand in its home market.

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Ted Baker was delisted from the London stock market in 2022 after being bought by Authentic, headed by the entrepreneur Jamie Salter, for about £210m.

The British brand had endured a torrid period in the period leading up to the sale, beginning in 2019 when founder Ray Kelvin left amid claims of inappropriate behaviour towards colleagues.

It was subsequently forced to issue a string of profit warnings and accounting mishaps, having to confront the COVID-19 pandemic from a position of financial weakness.

In 2020, it axed hundreds of jobs and raised £100m to shore up its balance sheet.

Its new standalone store will follow the recent opening of a boutique inside Selfridges' store in Birmingham.

"This opening is an important milestone for Ted Baker in its home market and a reaffirmation of the brand's British heritage and the enduring relevance of the category where it all began," Henry Stupp, president, lifestyle Europe, Middle East, Africa and India at Authentic, said.

He added: "We're building on the qualities that have long distinguished Ted Baker, its approach to tailoring, craftsmanship and distinctly British point of view, while evolving the brand for today's consumer. London is the natural place to begin, and we see this opening as a defining step in the brand's next chapter."

The new store includes a collaboration with Suit Direct, Ted Baker's tailoring partner, which has worked with the fashion brand for many years.

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Founded in 1988, Ted Baker became one of the most prominent clothing retailers in Britain before its demise.

Authentic - previously known as ABG - now owns a sprawling portfolio of brands, including Care Bears, which it acquired over the summer.

The company has signalled its intention to pursue a public listing of its shares in the US in the near term.

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