Ted Baker ends year in style

Fashion house Ted Baker said it was able to rack up strong sales in the run up to Christmas without having to slash prices.

The group said retail sales for the eight weeks to 7 January were ahead 15.7 per cent, while profit margins were held intact as there was no significant promotional activity before Christmas.

Some high street retailers were forced to sacrifice margins last month and bring forward end-of-year sales in a bid to draw in cash-strapped consumers.

Ted Baker, which has 31 wholly-owned stores, 144 concessions and nine outlet stores in the UK, added that sales since Christmas have been strong and it expects to end the season with a clean stock position. Pre-tax profits for the full year are expected to be in line with expectations.

Meanwhile, the company increased its average retail square space over the period by 7.3 per cent to 240,001 sq ft.

Ray Kelvin, founder and chief executive, said: “In a challenging trading environment, this performance is a testament to the strength of the Ted Baker brand, our collections and people.”

The company, which also has a string of stores across Europe, America and Asia, will open a store on Fifth Avenue, in New York towards the middle of 2012 as well as its first stores in Tokyo in March and Beijing in June.

Ted Baker warned earlier in the year that its autumn sales had been affected by the unseasonably warm weather.

The group reported a 13 per cent increase in pre-tax profits to £8.5 million in the six months to 13 August and will report on its full year results in March.