Ted Baker will close all remaining 31 stores this week, risking 500 jobs four months after entering bankruptcy proceedings.
All of the fashion brand’s stores are expected to be closed until the end of Tuesday.
Previously, the company behind the British Ted Baker stores, No Ordinary Designer Label (NODL), had to file for bankruptcy in March this year. The insolvency administrators closed 15 stores and cut 245 jobs.
There are currently 513 employees working in Ted Baker stores and headquarters in the UK, and their jobs are now at risk.
Ted Baker will close all of its remaining 31 stores this week, putting 500 jobs at risk four months after filing for bankruptcy. Pictured is the store on London Bridge
A Ted Baker store on Regent Street in London is holding a sale in July
The decision came after Authentic Brand Group – which acquired Ted Baker in 2022 – stopped payments to its suppliers, reports in the Wall Street Journal suggested.
When NODL filed for bankruptcy – at a time when Ted Baker employed around 975 people in the UK – Authentic said the “damage caused” was “too great to bear”.
Ted Baker operated 46 stores, an e-commerce platform and department store concessions.
John McNamara, head of strategy and transition at Authentic Brands Group, previously told Fashion Network: “We would have liked a better outcome for Ted Baker employees and shareholders.”
Ted Baker – which opened in Glasgow in 1988 – has over the years secured impressive endorsement deals with celebrities such as Emma Stone and Amal Clooney.
It was founded by Ray Kelvin, who resigned in 2019 after being accused of forcing female employees to hug him and asking them to sit on his lap.
Mr Kelvin, who denied the allegations of misconduct, was also accused of massaging staff and giving them kisses on the ears.
The company behind Ted Baker’s British stores, No Ordinary Designer Label (NODL), filed for bankruptcy in March this year.
At that time, he had already been working for the company since its founding 32 years ago.
Mr Kelvin started working in his uncle’s menswear shop in Enfield at the age of 11 and founded the Ted Baker brand in 1988 when he opened a store specialising in men’s shirts in Glasgow and built it into one of the UK’s top brands.
Authentic Brands, the US-based company behind Juicy Couture and Reebok, continues to own Ted Baker’s intellectual property.
After the company filed for insolvency last month, co-administrator Benji Dymant said: “Ted Baker is an iconic British brand with strong partners around the world.”
“While these store closures have an unfortunate impact on valued team members, they will enhance the company’s performance as Authentic continues to engage in discussions with potential UK and European operating partners for the Ted Baker brand to get the business back on its feet.”
“We would like to thank Ted Baker team members and partners for their continued efforts and support during this difficult time.”
