Ted Baker losses deepen by 1,370% as coronavirus takes its toll

A high street fashion retailer has today reported that its losses deepened by more than a thousand per cent in the first half of this year.

Ted Baker, which has 201 UK stores, reported losses before tax of £39m, increasing by 1,370.4 per cent from 2019’s £2.7m.

The company also saw revenues drop from £313.3m to £169.5m in the first six months of the year, plummeting by 45.9 per cent, driven by the effects of Covid-19 and countrywide lockdowns.

It is currently undergoing a restructuring process (Ted’s Growth Formula), announced in June, which it says is set to save £31m of payroll savings annually.

Rachel Osborne, CEO of Ted Baker, commented: “This has been an unprecedented period for Ted Baker and today’s interim results clearly show both the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the steps we have taken to reset the business.

“I believe that these actions and the early progress we have made with Ted’s Growth Formula means we now have the right foundations in place for the future.

“Even with some of our legacy issues being amplified by Covid-19, our balance sheet is materially stronger than we had envisaged this early in the plan and operational cashflow will be positive for the full-year.

“At the same time, we have strengthened our leadership team, made good progress against our brand, product and digital ambitions, and are on track or ahead of our operational KPIs for the first year of our plan.

“While these are still very early days in Ted’s transformation, and the economic outlook remains uncertain, we are confident that we have the right strategy and team in place and that we are setting the business up for future success.”